Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy
by Thunder Crush
Summary: "Red Hat," Konami is determined to find his spirit partner at any cost. He ventures through a parallel universe in hopes of discovering his whereabouts, but gets sidetracked by strange events transpiring that can't be overlooked. As he ventures deeper into the matter it doesn't take him long to figure out what's going on, but is it already to late for him?
1. Prologue

**Now, for anyone wondering why I've decided to recreate a story after my last two failed attempts? Well the answer's very simple; after I started reading some creative and popular Yu-Gi-Oh! Stories I began remembering the only stories I had fun creating (and at least tried to) and thinking of ideas for were part of the same fandom I liked since childhood, Yu-Gi-Oh. My main problem I just got with creating stories is I always contradict myself, because I kept asking others for advice to try to make the story entertaining for them, not for myself. So once again thank you Hiyuusha, Youngbountygirl and SlayersFan132 for making me realize this. They told me I needed to make the stories I create fun to do so I could enjoy creating chapters for it.**

**A/N: There will be a few OC characters within in this story, but will not follow the original 5D's plot as much as their will be a lot changes, twists, surprises and outcomes. **

**Disclaimer: Of course, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any other material used in this fanfic.**

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**Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy**

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**Chapter Zero**

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**Prologue**

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It was a peaceful morning in Neo Domino City; the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly over the metropolis, announcing the start of a new day. The citizens of the city were carrying out their daily activities without a care in the world. Though, the residents of this intended utopia live in luxury and privilege mainly due to the labor they feed off from the inhabitants of a neighboring island that had once been part of the original Domino City before a terrible accident had occurred two years ago.

People were still recovering from the wounds it left, but some time has passed and a lot haven't taken it into consideration. Still, there was more to this city that met the eye; holding as many secret and mysteries yet to come into light, as the universe was infinite.

Meanwhile, in a bedroom residing in an apartment in the Downtown District, a figure clad in red was still in bed, trying to sleep. Twisting and turning under the crimson-red sheets, it seemed like he'd went another night with barely any sleep. Though, it was only expected! After everything that happened over a course of a night, it was only natural that he was a bit restless.

To think it all began with a dream!

Still, he wasn't afraid. After everything he'd experienced in Duel Academy from this dimension and the next, he'd pretty much gotten accustomed to these types of matters. When he had discovered that one of his Spirit partners he thought had died during his fourth year at the Academy after sacrificing itself to protect him might still be alive, well he couldn't contain his joy.

Though, what he had to do caught him off guard at first: sure he went up against Shadow Riders, Duel Spirits, Sacred Beast, and participated in Duels of Darkness, but he'd never had to do anything like this before.

"_Well, I guess it doesn't matter what I have to do,_" thought a grinning Konami, "_I'll get you back no matter what_."

"**Then you better get out of bed and get ready,**" a female voice suggested. "**It's almost time to go!**"

Caught off guard, Konami's eyes snapped opened wide as his body fell from his sheets and flew off his bed.

_THUMP!_

He let out a small cry of pain as he fell to the marble floor, hard. He grimaced in pain and embarrassment as he stood up and turned to see his equally embarrassed Card Spirits; Guardian Eatos, Rosaria the Stately Fallen Angel and, Wynn the Wind Charmer.

"**Maybe we should have announced our presence before speaking to you,**" giggled Wynn, her staff held in front of her face. "**Oh, and I didn't know your started sleeping in boxer briefs.**"

Konami stared wide-eyed where Wynn was floating. He glanced down and his face reddened, before scrambling back to his bed and covering his body with the sheets. "_I forget to put on my pajamas, how stupid!_"

"**Don't be so embarrassed,**" said Wynn, a big smile plastered on her face. "**They do fit you reallll nice**," she continued, stretching it out a good bit as Konami's face turned bright red in embarrassment.

Eatos slapped Wynn on the back of head. "**Wynn, I thought you agreed you'd stopped being such a pervert**."

Her cheeks puffed, "**So sorry, _Madame_ Eatos**."

"You should probably speak to your elders a bit more respectfully," Konami suggested, hiding his obvious embarrassment. "After all, it's always been your lifelong dream to evolve into a Familiar-Possessed-Wynn, right?"

"**That's right**," replied Wynn in excitement, floating towards Rosaria and attaching herself to his arm. "**That's why this big strong man's been helping me with my training**." She squealed, snuggling closer to him.

"**Um yeah, could you let go of me now?**" he replied, attempting to pry the girl off. "**You're a nice girl and all but, I told you many timeS I'm too old for you.**"

"**Oh, come on**," Wynn whined, rather disappointed that he rejected her again. "**Don't act like you don't want to go out with me. Besides, you're only one-hundred and fifty years older than I am.**"

Konami couldn't help but laugh.

"You guys sure do amusing things, you know that?" he said with a rather carefree look. "What are you guys doing here, anyway? In case you didn't notice, I was trying to get some sleep." He yawned and went back to bad.

Eatos floated next to a still dazed Konami. "**Well, like I said before, it's almost time to get ready. I thought you might overslept like you use to at the Academy, so we decided to keep you up personally like your friends use to**."

"Really, is it that late already?" Konami asked, sitting up.

Rubbing his eyes, he glanced over at his alarm clock resting on his night stand.

It was only 7:00.

"You all remember that I never get out of bed this early if I didn't get enough sleep, right?" he asked, earning a nod from all three of them. "Then why would tell me to get out bed in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?"

Before an answer could be spoken a ball of yellow light appeared in the room, floating around the three spirits before zigzagging to Konami. Laughter could be heard emanating from it as transformed into a familiar creature.

"**Hey, Konami,**" exclaimed Ojama Yellow, shifting its legs together. "**Why are you still in bed? Chazz and Bastion are waiting for you at the lab! You're supposed to prepare for your exciting solo adventure**."

"Waiting?" asked Konami with obvious confusion; he still had another three hours to kill before he had to leave for his adventure.

Rosaria shook his head in disagreement. "**That's what we came here to tell you**," he explained, earning confused look from the boy. "**You see, that friend of yours who's always not being noticed had to reschedule your trip to Seven Twenty-Five.**"

…

"WHAT?" shouted the boy, obviously taken off guard. "Why?"

Wynn shrugged. "**I don't know," **she replied.** "He was blabbing some kind of sciencey mumbo-jumbo and then some other complicated things I didn't understand, but to be fair, I wasn't paying much attention when he was talking. He was pretty boring, going into details with all those facts he finds interesting. Now I'm starting to get why no one notices him**."

"**You could say that again, my sweet wind charmer,**" Ojama yellow added, grabbing hold of her leg. "**Bastion's long rant sent Chazz into dream land ten minutes into his explanation**."

Eatos blinked. "**I think you should get ready!**" she suggested.

No sooner than that did he rush into the bathroom to get ready.

Wynn looked at the boy shut the door behind him, with a big smile. "**I forgot how nice and plump his ass is!**"

It would be another fifteen minutes before he came back out, revealing he was a nineteen-year-old man.

He was tall and had a light muscular physique, his skin was Caucasian. His dark brown hair was chunky and nape-length. The look in his blue eyes could tell you he wasn't someone who would lose his cool quickly. He wore a Slifer Red jacket with a high collar, black shoulder pads over a black shirt, and wore fingerless gloves. His lower body consisted of blue jeans with black knee pads, a belt with two holsters hidden under his jacket and black boots, had golden earring on his left ear, and had a Slifer Red Duel Disk attached to his left wrist.

He glanced at the clock again.

7:15

Glancing around, he realized he couldn't see his most prized possessions.

"Where's my hat, why can't I find it? I was sure I had it with me when I went sleep?"

Rosaria sweat dropped. "**Instead of wasting your energy worrying about a material possession, I suggest you hurry up to the main lab," **he sighed, face-palming.** "I hope this helps**." A dimensional portal of darkness appeared beside his master, summoning a towering purple machine with a glowing orb on top. "**Interdemensional Matter Transporter should get you there in no time**!"

**-5D's-**

In the Tops area of the city, Chazz and Bastion were seated in front of circular table within a laboratory, waiting patiently for the arrival of their red capped friend, but one was growing low on patience.

"Damn it, where the hell is that Slacker?" scowled Chazz, gritting his teeth. "Those damn duel spirits should have told him we needed to reschedule the time he gets sent on this wondrous adventure already."

"Chazz…" Bastion cut in. "I think he'll be arriving any minute. I don't take Konami as the type of person who takes these opportunities for granted."

"Oh?" bristled Chazz, dangling a red hand with a single finger and holding a red bag in his other hand. "He also didn't seem like a person who would just leave his most prized possession in some lab in the middle of the night and his supplies." His scowled deepened. "Three months have passed since graduation, but he's still the same immature slacker from first year."

Bastion covered his ears, listening to the Chazz rant about how irresponsible Konami is. He along with a lot of other students has been forced to listen to these types of things since the first year of Duel Academy.

A portal of darkness suddenly formed on the floor, taking both duelists by surprise as the Interdemensional Matter Transporter appeared before them, with Konami holding the glowing orb tight.

"Konami," smiled Bastion, standing up as he went to greet his friend. "I was worried you weren't you going to show."

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Konami with a smirk. "There's no way I could pass up an opportunity to get my original Spirit partner back." He glanced over at Chazz. "Hey, my hat," he shouted in joy, swiping it from the Princeton, and placing it on top of his head. "Thanks for finding it. I thought I'd lost it."

Chazz snorted. "Yeah, well don't mention it. I don't need any thanks from a slacker like you." He then threw the red supply bag towards the boy. "Oh, and don't forget your supply bag holding money, medicine, first aid and pretty much everything essential to your survival, idiot."

Konami cried as the bag crashed into his arms, knocking him on the ground.

"**Um, boss**." Ojama Yellow said, appearing beside his face. "**Don't you think Konami should leave? We only have a few minutes before the portal gets shut down for who knows how long.**"

"Hmp, I guess you're-" Chazz paused, noticing Ojama's black eye. "_What happened to your eye?"_

"**Um,**" Ojama flinched, remembering the punch delivered by Wynn. "**Let's just say never grab the leg of a female duel spirit and look at her panties,**" he replied, his face reddening. "**But those strawberry printed panties sure did look delicious. Mmm Mmm**," he said, licking his lips.

_SLAP!_

A steaming Wynn stretched out her hand she used to smack to the yellow beast.

"**You little pervert**."

"Um, Bastion," Konami began. "Don't you think I should leave for that parallel dimension? I only have a few minutes left before that portal shuts down for who knows how long."

He only replied by getting a mechanical remote out from his pocket and aiming it at the floor. Pressing one of its many buttons, a glowing, purple-rimmed portal appeared within the room, instantly covering the room they were in shadows.

"Now, as the three of us know, this portal's unstable," Bastion said, receiving a nod from Konami, "and like last time when we decided to follow Jaden to that alternative dimension, there's no telling we're you'll end up if you go in."

"Yeah, but you really don't have to explain this," sighed Konami, before a grin got plastered on his face. "I remember our adventure to that alternative dimension all too well," he reminded. "It's almost similar to the portal we used back then, but this time I need to call out my monsters and use them to charge it."

Chazz frowned, getting a serious case of déjà vu, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

Without another word, Konami got in front of the portal and out four of his ace cards.

"Mystic Swordsman Level 4, Eatos, Wynn and, Rosaria," he exclaimed as the four of them got summoned before him.

Each using their powers, all the monsters called out by their master assembled in front of the portal, each striking it with their strongest attack. In a moment, the gateway opened and, with a smile, Konami only had one thought on his mind. "I'm coming to get you!"

"_Looks like he did it_," thought Bastion, feeling a mixture of happiness and sadness.

Suddenly the portal started widening, engulfing the Duel Spirits and Konami as the portal's color had shifted black, much to Chazz's horror, as they backed up in fright.

"Hey, whiz kid, what's happening?" shouted Chazz, glaring at the former Ra. "Was this supposed to happen?"

Before an answer could be uttered, the portal consumed Konami. The boy caught within the portal was now falling into a parallel universe, separated from his friends.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Bastion replied, as the portal vanished soon after. "That was a one-way trip. I can't bring him back until I materialize a portal, and that could take a year or so."

Chazz's eyes narrowed. "You know what?" he began. "I helped you supply that portal with power from my Duel spirits so it could function out of the kindness of my heart, but I still don't know why he's doing this or where he got teleported too, and the Chazz does not take kindly to being left out in the dark."

Bastion sighed. "_I already told you, but apparently I put you to sleep with my long details. Maybe I should have just stayed with Tania in that alternate dimension instead of coming back with my friends who never notice me._"

"Are you ignoring me?" scowled the Princeton, not like being ignored. "You still haven't answered my question."

"OK, fine," Bastion replied, face palming. "A few months after we graduated from the academy, Konami apparently was visited in his dreams by Kristya; his original spirit partner who we thought had died protecting him from Nightshroud," he continued. "He told Konami how he somehow got teleported to a parallel universe."

"Sounds like a goofy science fiction movie," replied Chazz until sighing in defeat. "_But in hindsight, half the things I experienced in that God forsaken school, a parallel universe wouldn't be too farfetched._"

"There's more to it," Bastion went out. "From what Kristya told Konami in his visit was the universe he'd been trapped in had sixteen years of more history." He took a deep breath, not sure if he believed what he was saying. "I still don't know how he ended up in such place, but Konami only cared about getting him back..." He paused. "So I decided to take time out of my busy social life-" Chazz snorted. "And help an old friend."

"So, in shorter words, he's traveling to some parallel universe so he can get his spirit partner back!" concluded Chazz, arms crossed, "Sounds pretty corny if you ask me."

**-5D's-**

A glowing, purple-rimmed portal appeared within the unoccupied streets of Neo Domino, and it was Konami who stepped out before it disappeared in a haze. What he could easily tell from a glance that this city was different from the one he left.

But none of that mattered at the time.

Rummaging through his bag, the man's eyes narrowed, pulling out a notebook containing everything he needed to know about his temporary home. Until he found Kristya, he had to live in this universe for a while and find out everything he needed to know about this Neo Domino City.

On the other hand, he shouldn't get too worried, because it's not like this peaceful little city is going to offer him too much trouble. Plus, maybe he could duel a few new opponents along the way. Who knows what sort of fun duelists in this parallel universe can offer him.

**"My lord**," Mystic Swordsman LV4 said, respectfully bowing to his knee. "**With all due respect, I highly recommend you to study up on your alternate self. After all, when arriving here you became this universe's Konami Kudo, but didn't retain any of his memories. Bastion warned you there's no doubt that events in this universe played out much differently than they did in yours, so it would be in your best interest to learn what your alternate self was like before doing anything, my lord!**"

"That's not any fun," groaned Konami, but decided there was no use in complaining knowing out of his four remaining spirit partners; Mystic Swordsman was the wisest of all of them. "Still, I guess you're right. If I don't want to blow my cover, I should probably ask my friends what my alternate self was like."

"**That's good to hear, my lord,**" Mystic Swordsman replied, disappearing in a bright flash of light.

"He really needs to loosen up a bit and have some fun," sighed the red hat duelist. "_And why does he keep referring to me as 'lord'? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter... I need to get to my apartment in the Downtown district, because even if the events of this universe have played out differently, I must assume my alternate self decided to live here as well, and since I've only graduated the academy three months ago, it's possible the citizens of this city don't know anything about him, and who knows. He might not be that different from me._"

**-5D's-**

Konami was excited, walking past building after building in the downtown district as he entered his three-room apartment. As he made it into the apartment, his eyes immediately shot open.

An old wooden flooring, dingy pale walls, a ceiling lamp that barley illuminated the darkness shrouding him, a small couch in front of an old television resting on a worn down TV stand, and to top it all off, the kitchen was dusty, filled with mold and the box was wide open, revealing that the bedroom was in the best condition, having single yellow sheeted bed, and a closet filled with yellow jackets.

"**EWWWWW,**" Wynn screeched in disgust from Konami's Deck. "**How can anyone live in a place so nasty? Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ewwwwwwwww. Nasty to the max, even your dingy apartment is better than this one**."

"**Language, young lady**," Eatos scolded. "**But she's right. Are you sure this is where your alternate self lived?**"

Konami grimaced, but quickly returned a smile to his face. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but the picture of a familiar yellow hat duelist with his friends at Duel Academy really reassures me it is," he said, pointing to a mantle hanging on the wall. "_Though, I really wished it wasn't and, my alternate self was a Ra yellow. Looks like I really do need to find out about him._"

Setting his bag down, his attention was turned to the corner of the room.

"A message?" murmured Konami. "Well, looks like I lucked out. Now I don't have to go to the trouble of messaging anyone," he laughed, taking a seat and pressing the computer. "At least this laptop's up to date."

Almost instantly, the screened changed. The calming yellow background became soothing blue, as a video chat box with a familiar face appeared.

"Hi, Konami," Alexis said, flashing him a warm smile. "I hope this isn't too awkward for you. You know, me calling you after our break up."

Konami eyes widened in confusion, but decided to go along with it. "Um, I-It's OK, I'm fine, Alexis."

"That's great, because you have to realize you're a nice guy and all, but you don't know how to stand up for your-" This time her eyes widened, but this time in realization. "Hey, why are you wearing red? I know it's been a three months since you graduated the Academy and you've been living in Neo Domino for two weeks, but I thought you hated red."

"I just decided it was time for a new appearance," Konami spat out without thinking. "After our breakup, I decided it was time for me to make a change and… and… and my clothes symbolize I'm not the same person you broke up with," Konami exclaimed, cringing a bit as if he were talking to the Alexis of his universe. "You now, how I was back then, right?"

"Well, of course," she replied, almost shocked. "Are you feeling OK? You're not acting like yourself."

He started sweating. "No, no, I'm fine," stuttered an awkwardly laughing Konami. "Never mind that, I was actually going to message you," he lied. "I wanted to reminisce on good old days me and the gang had at the Academy."

Alexis looked stunned, but a smile quickly returned to her face. "You really have changed," she concluded. "I never thought you wanted to relive your days at the Academy, especially after all the things that happened to you."

"Y-Yeah," replied Konami, a fake smile still plastered on his face. "I would like to hear everything about our days at the academy, from the first to the last, and please go into explicit detail."

**"Smooth,**" Giggled Wynn. "**Maybe the reason why you don't want to be in a relationship is because you can't be in one.**"

He just smiled. "_Hmmm, from a girl who never had a boyfriend the two hundred years she's been alive that's quiet the big claim._"

**-5D's-**

Alexis couldn't help, but laugh as she reminisced on her friend's days at the Academy.

"And after that Obelisk Blue beat you up I literally had to run to your rescue and fend them off." She giggled, her hand clenched to her stomach.

Konami looked shocked. "_OK, from what I could gather my alternate self is it total pushover, and because of his pacifist nature he can't stand up for himself, but has kind heart and not willing to duel unless necessary._" He hung his back. "_How boring, I refuse to act like this guy_."

"**My lord,**" Mystic Swordsman called from behind. "**With all due respects you're going to have to act like your alternate self no matter how much you don't like it.**" He toke a respectful bow. "**I'm sorry if he's not the person you thought he would be, but you can't change that.**"

Konami sighed, keeping his head turned. "_Maybe I should test out a little experiment_." He thought, turning his attention back to the video chat. "Alexis, it's been a while since first year so could you tell me how good of a duelist I was back then?"

She burst out laughing after that.

He blinked in surprise turning towards Mystic Swordsman with a big smile once again plastered on his face, before turning back to the screen. "I know I wasn't that good of a duelist back then." Said Konami, more boldly, but tried acting sad.

"Sorry," Alexis apologized, whipping a tear from her eye. "It's just that you retired from dueling after graduation. It was a shame you did, because you're struggling to find a job and barely making ends meet with those part-time jobs you barely manage to get. Actually, about a week ago you were so desperate for money you thought about selling a few of your cards at some point even your Eatos, Wynn, Mystic Swordsman and Rosaria."

After hearing that Konami turned his head towards the swordsman who sweat dropped. "**My lord, maybe you should be yourself.**"

"_Good idea,_" winked Konami, satisfied he'd won. "See you later, Alexis. Thanks for chatting with me like old times." He smiled, "But before I go I want you to tell the gang I'm about to take up Duel Monsters again."

"Really," gasped Alexis in disbelief. "Th-That's great. I'm glad knowing you're taking risks now. You really are starting to change. I'll talk with you soon, but I don't know when. I'm busy with my job as duel teacher, sorry."

With a soft click, Alexis's screen turned pitch back, leaving a relieved Konami in solitude.

"Well, this might be a bit harder than I thought," Konami murmured, pressing the power button, shutting his laptop down. "Still, who knows what type of excitement this city might hold for us?"

"**Konami,**" scolded Eatos, in a stern voice, "**Aren't you forgetting the reason why we're here?**" she asked, arms crossed. "**It's to find our comrade. So you can't just get sidetracked with everything you find exciting!**"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, Eatos," grinned Konami. "No matter how much time I spend searching for Kristya, it's going to take me some time to find him either way," He then smiled. "Besides, what's the harm of having fun while we're on this awesome adventure?"

Rosaria sighed. "**You really are a mystery**,** master**,**" he said, floating next to Eatos. **"**Still, he's right. Who knows how long it'll take before he finds him, so there's no harm in enjoying a few sites along the way**."

"See?" Konami grinned, as Eatos face-palmed. "Even Rosaria agrees with me."

Feeling defeated, Eatos just nodded, not wanting to spend more time chatting with her master in this apartment then she had too.

"**OK, fine, but don't you think you should fix this place up?**" Eatos asked, obviously disgusted. "**Even if you're just here temporary, you should at least live in better arrangements than this. Especially since there'll be females living with** **you.**"

"**For once I agree with her**," Wynn complained, wrapping her arms around Rosaria's waist. "**This place is nasty, nasty, nasty. Why don't you use those wise investments you made in your four-year stay at that freaky school?**"

"You two are never satisfied, are you?" sighed Konami, walking across the floor to his supply bag. "Fine, but I'm not going to make his apartment any better than mine," he warned them, zipping it open and taking out a briefcase. "I want to keep my life plain and simple," he reminded, opening it and revealing it held who knows how much money inside, "so nothing too fancy."

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**Prologue**

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**END**

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**With Konami determined to find his spirit partner at any cost, he ventures into a parallel universe where danger lurks around every corner within Neo Domino City. Will he be able to make it out in one piece and get his old friend back, or will he drown in an infinite sea of ambition? Find out, next time, on Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy!**


	2. 1) A New Partnership

"Now, for those just tuning in, I welcome you to the rematch of the century," the MC shouted though the mike from his private stand, his voice echoing throughout the ring. "And what an exciting one it'll be! Both competitors will no doubtfully give it their all, but which of them will claim victory?"

Cries of many seated within the Kaiba Dome could be heard echoing throughout the grand arena; cheering for the man they deemed their king. This was what everyone loved most and practically came for… to watch their king defend his title once again.

On the tracks raced a lone D-Wheel, driven by a pale, blond-haired man, wearing a white jacket and an A-shaped earring. The look from his violet-purple eyes could tell anyone he wasn't afraid of anything coming his way.

Only a few seconds later, a roar of an engine emanated from one of the two entrances, causing smoke to dance around as white, pink highlighted D-Wheel resembling a chopper charged into the stadium. People cheered as the challenger raced to the starting point along with an unmoved Jack Atlas.

She only smiled. "Sorry if I'm late."

"And just like that, Huntress Pace has finally showed up, eager to regain her title as Queen of Turbo Duels," the MC exclaimed.

"I'm not the same person I was back then, Jackie," the women, Huntress, warned, side glancing at Jack. She was a tall, slender, tan-skinned woman. Her hair was orange-red, yellow-haired, styled to represent a burning flame. The sunglasses she wore made it impossible to see her eyes, but it was obvious to anyone she was ready for action. She wore an orange shirt, black jacket and pants, and a phoenix pedant that matched her helmet.

Completely ignore her, Jack pressed a button on his Runner. "I think it's time to kick things off."

***DUEL MODE ENGAGED; AUTO PILOT STANDING BY***

Both runners released a transparent white glow surrounding the arena in a neon-purple dome.

"With their Speed World Field Spells activated the action's about to start," announced the MC, more seriously. "Because now the only Spells that can be used are Speed Spells which means Normal Spells will have to take a back seat." He paused for dramatic effect. "So without further ado… let's move on to the main event."

The two locked eyes with each for what seemed like hours, before…

"Duel…"

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**Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy**

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**Chapter One**

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** A New Partnership?**

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Three months had passed since Konami's arrival in the parallel universe. Ever since that day, he'd taken refuge in the equally unfamiliar Neo Domino City. For what had been happening with him, practically everything in his daily life had changed, but didn't take too long for him to adjust to this temporary way of living. However, despite the thrills and excitement he had, Konami hadn't forgotten the reason he came here.

"**Konami, it's time to get ready,**" Eatos rolled her eyes, trying to get the boy out of bed, but to no avail. "**I still don't like the idea that you're just dueling people randomly around the city. I don't your constant dueling its actually quiet refreshing, but you need to think in a more strategic and less dangerous way.**"

He peeked from the covers. "You need to have a little fun," Konami snickered, returning to bed. "Besides with everything I experienced at the Academy, I'm pretty much prepared for anything this city has to offer."

Eatos sighed. "**Oh, did I forget to tell you?**" she gasped, acting surprised. "**You promised to duel an alternate version of that Kami girl the other day, but if want to go back on your word as duelist, then I under****-**"

In a flash, Konami jumped out of bed. "A DUEL, why didn't you tell me sooner?" he shouted, running to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. "I can't go around sleeping when I could be dueling."

Eatos only sweat dropped, "**You truly are a mystery,**** master!**" The fairy face-palmed, with a rather loud sigh, "**You, know me and the others always worry when you get like this about dueling**."

"Where's my red hat?" he shouted from the door. "I can't go anywhere without my hat."

Listening to her master complain about his hat, her sweat dropped got even bigger. "**I'll just be waiting in the deck when you've gotten ready.**"

**-5D's-**

After a few of minutes of preparing, Konami made his way out of the room and raced through the tattered and, to a lesser extent, filthy halls of his apartment. His eyes were burning with the same determination and strength as they always showed before a duel. It was one of the many things he lived for.

Skidding around the corner, he nearly fell off over with his attention and thoughts somewhere else, but he quickly recovered, and continued to his destination hardly stopping to take a breath. The thought of dueling against a powerful opponent never ceased to exhilarate him to such a great extent.

Seconds later, he was running down the stairs, less cautious about its creaking sounds, rotten wood, and the bad shape it was in. Once he was like that, there was absolutely nothing that could scare him away from a good duel.

With a huge grin, he ran out of the apartment and ran into the Downtown District. Without stopping, he made his way through a nearby alleyway, not bothered as the smell of rotten fish and dead rat entered his nostrils.

"_Another day, another duel that I'm going to win,_" Konami thought, with a fairly wide smile. "Wouldn't _you agree, Eatos? There's no doubt we're going to have a lot fun dueling like we always do._"

Eatos snorted in disagreement, wondering if they'd ever be able to find Kristya at the pace her master was going.

"**You're too relaxed, master!**" Eatos stated floating beside the teen.

"And you're too serious, Eatos!" he thought, "I know I'm here to find Kristya, but like I said, there's no harm in having a little fun along the way."

Wynn nodded, appearing behind Red Hat with a devious smile. "_**What a sexy body he's got here, I wish this Kami person was a boy. If she was, she might be even sexier than Red Hat.**_"

Eatos scowled "**You just thought something perverted there, didn't you,**** Wynn?**"

She smiled cutely. "**Of course not, I was just wondering when we could go to that delightful coffee shop today.**"

The Fairy snorted, seeing through the girl's obvious lie, but Konami was too preoccupied getting to where he wanted to be, he couldn't tell if she was lying or not.

"_Coffee shop, are you sure?_" Red Hat asked, not keen on the idea. "_I really don't like coffee, and I might be late for my duel… and I've never missed a duel before in my life and don't plan on starting today._"

Both girls sweat dropped at the boy's overbearing love of duels.

"Master, no offense but, you need to get yourself a hobby that doesn't involve Duel Monsters in any way," Eatos suggested. "I think meeting a few people outside of that game would help improve your social life."

Konami snorted, running past a curb, almost out of the alley. "**For once I agree with her, which is saying something, because I don't agree with anyone except for hot and sexy men!**" Wynn said, glancing at Eatos from head to toe. "_**Not old ladies past their prime.**_"

Konami frowned, "Yeah, I'll do that after my duel, OK?"

"**Come one,**" whined Wynn, balling her hands before flaring them into the air repeatedly. "**Couldn't you try something else besides**** dueling… for us?**"

"Let me see?" Konami simply replied, making his way out the alley. "Nope."

The guardian and the charmer sighed in defeat before disappearing back into their master's deck in gusts of wind.

**-5D's-**

Walking into the shop, with a small jingle announcing Red Hat's arrival, and at that moment, the sweet aroma of cappuccino flooded his nostrils.

It was nice to get a steaming cup of coffee and enjoy the scenery of his temporary home. After all, it couldn't hurt to relax once in a while with all the dueling he'd been doing.

Overall, it had been put together very nicely; he could tell that a lot of money had gone into it. Off to his left was small mahogany table with creamers and sugars on top of it. Many other tables scattered in an orderly fashion across the room were designed the same way. The walls were a soft royal blue with wooden trimming. Finally, a counter stood on the opposite side of the building, also made of mahogany that had a small television set resting on it.

"**Since when did you start liking coffee, my lord?**" Silent Knight asked, apparently confused. "**With all due respect, I thought coffee was one of your least favorite drinks, so I find it odd why you decided come here before dueling**."

Konami shrugged, walking across the marble flooring before stopping in front of the counter, and ringing the bell, promoting a hazel-haired woman dressed in slandered waitress clothing to appear from under.

"Hello, Konami," the woman said warmly, smiling at her favorite customer. "I take it you had an absolutely wonderful, spectacular day of dueling, did you not?!"

_"__I don't. I keep coming here because I'm too nice of a guy,_" he mentally sighed. "Not yet, but I ran into an old classmate of mine from the Academy the other day, who literally wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed to duel her."

"Well, you are the 'Crimson Beast', after all," the waitress reminded him. "She must have heard how well you're coming along since you decided to take up dueling again." She paused, "By the way, how many wins and losses do you have so far?"

Without a word, Konami idly glanced at his Duel Disk, staring at his stats with an apparent smile.

**Konami Kodo – Rank 40 - 170/Wins/14 Losses**

He smirked. "I'm not doing that bad, Stephanie, I'll tell you that much!"

"Really, because according to the official Neo Domino City rankings, you're in the top forty," she squealed before clapping a hand over her mouth. "_I'm glad nobody was around to hear that!_"

Eatos groaned, face palming. "**With** **an attitude like that, how could this girl think of working in the Cafe la Geen one day? People in this universe take things far too lightly, if you ask me.**"

"_Eatos, you have to be more considerate of other people's feelings.__" _Konami thought._ "__I mean, when was the last time you had some fun or even smiled?_"

"**I can answer that, ne-ver**." Wynn chimed.

Konami suppressed the urge laugh, ignoring the un amused expression of Eatos.

It was at that point a new customer entered the shop, slamming the door shut behind with Konami snapping out of his thoughts, turning to see an average-sized, long black-haired woman with curly glasses walk over to him.

"_Not this girl again; I thought I would be safe from reporters in a place like this._" Konami mentally groaned, "Carly, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

The women, Carly, panted, stopping to catch her breath, "Ko-Konami-san, I've been looking everywhere for you, but I've finally found you. I was starting to think you've been avoiding me."

Red Hat face-palmed. "Of course I haven't," he said, quickly returning a smile to his face. "_Of course I have, you twit. With everything going on with me, the last thing I need is some wannabe reporter following me around the city for a juicy report to kick-start her journalist career and actually become a wannabe reporter instead of a blogger living out of her car._"

"**That wasn't very nice,**" Eatos scolded. "**And you tell me I should me more considerate of other people's feelings?**"

"_I didn't say it to her face, did I? And besides, everything I thought was true._"

Carly smiled. "That's great; I thought you were avoiding me there for a second. I've been searching around the city everywhere to find the Crimson Beast and get an exclusive interview on your rise to the ranks, and it's a good thing I got to you before that tramp Angela did."

The waitress of the group looked confused. "Excuse, but who are you? I know your name's Carly, but I would feel more comfortable if I knew exactly who you were and who this Angela person is."

Konami sighed, not wanting to go through this again, but he wanted to get this over with quickly. "This women's Carly Carmine. She wants a career in journalism, but hasn't had any luck in making her dream a reality. She's competing with this women; Angela Raines. You know, the blonde-haired woman who's always on the Daily Duel and news broadcasts, reporting major events?"

"_Angela, that dirty little skank is nothing but a glory hound,_" thought. Carly, who had more energy than she did before. "_She's nothing, but a poser_."

Konami's attention shifted to the furious 'reporter' gritting her teeth, realizing where this was about to go. "Ah… Carly, you… wanted to get an interview from me if I'm correct, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I wanted an exclusive interview with the Crimson Beast. You've attracted a lot of attention with victories and I like to get an interview with-"

"Great… then how about you interview Stephanie?" suggested Konami. "Or why not just relax and watch some TV? I'm sure there's something on that you might like."

Before getting a response, he leaned over the counter and pressed the Power button, instantly turning on the TV set beside her. On the screen was a man wearing a red tuxedo, an orange bow and had long black pompadour hair standing beside Jack Atlas.

_"Mr. Atlas," the man in the tux, holding the mike to the man in question, said, "from what I've heard, you're set to duel against Huntress's older brother, Hunter Pace, tomorrow and he's got a whole new game plan. Are you even just a little worried on how much he's improved?" he asked, patiently waiting for an answer with a huge grin._

_The man snatched the mike and turned to the camera, taking a step forward._

_"No, I'm not. It doesn't matter how much better that wannabe's gotten. I'll take him on anytime and anywhere and still be victorious, no matter how much he changes his game plan. Now, any more questions?" he asked in an Australian accent. As the MC nodded, taking his mike back, and holding it a few inches from his face._

_"One more, do you have anything to say to those out there who dream of one day challenging you?"_

_"Yes! Bring. It. On," the blond replied._

Both Stephanie and Carly smiled, their faces turning red by just the mere voice of the king.

"See? There are more people you can get interesting stories off of than just me," Konami said, slowly backing up from them. "Now if you don't mind… I'll be leaving."

Carly frowned, watching him go. "Wait, come back here, I've been looking everywhere for you!" she yelled after him, but it was too late.

He was out of sight.

Damn it; that interview with him was the only thing standing in her way of working for the Daily Duel. If she didn't find a suitable replacement, then she might be fired from her crappy intern job, which might not be such a bad thing since she could spread her wings out a little and venture out into the world, looking for juicy reports and stories on her own terms.

Carly looked disappointed to say the least, taking a camera from her bag. "_Still, he might be right. I may have missed out on a chance to interview him, but I can't keep chasing after him. This city is filled with interesting people of all shapes, but I need a partner to help me these big stories, and you'll do perfectly, Konami-san. So ready or not, here I come._"

"Um, excuse me?" Stephanie said, interrupting the girl's thoughts. "_I need distract her before she annoys Konami even more._"

Carly turned her seat around to face the waitress again. "What?"

"Konami forgot to pay for the doughnut he ran out with," she began. "I'm really sorry about this, but since you're the only one here, you're going to have to pay his tab. "

**-5D's-**

The boy ran across the streets, his eyes focused on nothing but what was ahead of him.

He didn't have time to deal with Carly, because with everything going on with him right now, the last thing he needed was some wannabe reporter breathing down his neck for a stupid interview when he had more important things to worry about. Searching for a spirit partner you though died trying to protect you was a lot more stressful than it sounds, so the last thing he needed was so much attention, but then again, it was probably his own fault though.

Since taking the identity of his alternate self, Konami had built quiet a name for himself, winning tournament after tournament in hopes of finding Kristya; the first of many of his spirit partners, though his efforts have mostly been in vain. So far, he'd yet to find any leads on its whereabouts or meet a duelist who might have it in their possession since his arrival.

Every so often he would sense Kristya's presence somewhere in the city, and sometimes could feel as if he was floating beside him, but it always seemed to vanish before he could directly sense were it was emanating from.

It was strange indeed, but he couldn't get too hung up on such matters, because the only thing he could be focused on was finding him, not spending every afternoon wondering what was going on.

There were so many questions he wanted answered, but couldn't, because he didn't have enough answers to know what was going on himself. Though, there was one place he'd been having uneasy vibes since coming here to this universe, and he had a feeling if he visited that place, he'd get answers.

"Ready or not, Satellite, here I-" he stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, yeah, I forgot I still have a duel to do." He sighed in relief, taking a bite out of a glazed doughnut held firmly in his hand.

"**Master…**" all his spirits groaned aside from Silent Knight, who groaned lord, "**We know you like dueling and we're OK with that,but the only thing that bothers us is that you'll just dueling people randomly. I mean I don't think Kristya will be in that girls Kami deck.**" Eatos said.

Konami finished off the rest of his glazed doughnut. "_What, I went to that Coffee shop like Eatos and Wynn begged me to go. Besides, this person might have Kristya. Remember, that's the reason why I decided to duel everyone I see?_"

"**With all due respect, you truly are a mystery, my lord,**" Silent Knight sweat dropped.

He grinned. "_So I've heard,_" replied Konami, turning in the opposite direction, and began walking away.

**-5D's-**

It was a calm afternoon within the city's upper class residential area, Tops. Something Konami had grown to become quiet bored with, because he was the type of person who wanted adventure, not this kind of tranquility.

"_This is the only reason why I hate coming to this part of the city,_" he thought, walking towards an apartment which he's heard is supposed to be the highest part of Neo Domino. To think this is how far technology, cities, and Duel Monsters will evolve in a mere sixteen years. The progress this world's universe will make in such a limited time is anything short of extraordinary.

As he entered the luxurious lobby, he didn't bother to admire its beauty with his mind only focusing on what was ahead. Though, from what he could concur, the room had tiled walls, numerous chandeliers, furniture and painting scattered just about everywhere and a plasma screen TV in front of a what he could assume was an expensive velvet sofa.

_"__This place has a nice set up,_" he thought, walking along the tiled floors, he made his way to the counter and rung the bell. This prompted a small green-haired boy, wearing a short-sleeved white jacket over a sleeveless dark blue shirt with golden markings, white shorts, with a dark blue belt and blue sneaker to appear from under it.

"Hello, there," the boy grinned. "You must be Konami Kudo."

"Um, do I know you?" asked Konami, squinting his eyes and looking at the boy closely. "Oh, now I know you. You're Kami's cousin; Leonard."

Leo's back straightened, giving the boy an angry gaze. "Please don't call me that. I would prefer you call me Leo and how do you know who I am?" he asked. "We never met in person because I almost never leave this apartment."

"W-Well, Kami told me a lot about you," Konami stuttered. "_Stupid; I should guess my alternate self never met Leonard._"

Leo titled his head, "Well, that's weird," he replied. "Kami never says anything about me because she's embarrassed we share any common blood."

_"__He said that so casually,_" frowned Red Hat. "I'm sorry that your cousin thinks of you like that, Leonar - Leo, but where exactly is she? We were scheduled to duel today."

"Oh, she's busy working at the stupid Queen's Duel Academy," Leo replied with a huff. "And she was supposed to make me lunch too."

"_Queen's Duel Academy,_" Red Hat thought, crossing his arms before it dawned on him. "_That's right; it's an all-girls academy that's one of the most popular ones in this city and if it weren't for that Duel Academy Sanctuary, it would be the most popular one in the city._" He nodded his head. "Ok, I can leave until she gets back," he said, turning to leave.

"Wait," Leo shouted, jumping over the counter, blocking the boy's path.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Konami, even though he could already guess what the child was about to say.

Quickly attaching his blue white-trimmed Duel Disk to his leaf arm, he said, "Duel me instead."

"_I knew it,_" he thought, starting to realize that he may be in an alternate universe, but that doesn't mean that everyone is as different as they were in his, even if they lived slightly different lives. "_Usually, I would say no, but if this Leonard has the same personality as in the information Bastion gave me, he's not going to take no for an answer, so maybe I should just humor him. Who knows, I might have a good time too._"

"Well?" Leo repeated. "Are we going to duel? The amazing Leo is getting impatient."

Komai chuckled at that, having his Duel Disk shuffle his Deck before facing the 'Amazing Leo.' "You're on. We'll play by standard Neo Domino City rules… eight-thousand Life Points apiece, OK?

"You're on."

The two stared at one another for several second, both raising their Duel Disk as a glowing ring around them apparently, acting as their Duel Field.

Leo's eyes widened in amazement. "_Sweet, I can hardly contain myself._"

"So are you ready?" Konami asked, ready to go.

"Always ready."

**DUEL**

**KONAMI VS LEO**

**KONAMI - 8000 LP**

**LEO - 8000 LP**

**TURN ONE - KONAMI**

"Since you challenged me, I'll go first, Leo." Konami shouted, drawing a card and glancing at his hands contents, "I think I'll start things off with my UFO Turtle in Attack Mode."

He thrust the card into his Monster Zone, watching as a sphere of flames formed before him, releasing the mechanical shelled turtle from within.

UFO Turtle - (FIRE/Machine) - LV3 - (1400/1200)

"Next, I place one card Face-Down, and end my Turn!" Konami declared.

**TURN TWO - LEO**

"It's my Turn!" Leo shouted, "Draw." Glancing at his newly drawn card, he smiled. "Alright, here I go. Let's see how you handle my Morphtronic Videon to the Field, also in Attack Mode."

In a blinding flash of light, the video camera machine appeared from within, stretching his mechanical arms out before landing in front of his master.

Morphtronic Videon - (LIGHT/Machine) - LV4 - (1000/1000)

"But that's not all," Leo shouted. "Next, I activate the Equip Spell, Morphtonic Rusty Engine! I can equip this card to one Morphtronic monster and let's just say you do not want to be around when it's destroyed." He continued, "I'm not done yet, because Videon has a special ability. You see, it gains an extra eight-hundred Attack Points for every card equipped to it." He snickered, "Just your tough luck, I suppose!"

A rusted engine equipped to Videon's back, causing a wave of energy to erupt from the machine's mechanical body, steadily growing in power as it grew almost twice its original size.

Morphtronic Videon - (LIGHT/Machine) - LV4 - (1800/1000)

"_Well, I got to admit that's a bit impressive, but still, does he actually have a strategy? I mean, he barely glanced at his Hand._" Konami glanced down at his Face-Down card. "_Well, that's just his tough luck, I suppose, because I'm going to teach him a crash course in dueling, hehe._"

"Oh, and the peace of resistance to add to my totally cool awesome combo are United We Stand," Leo grinned. "This card allows one Face-Up monster to gain eight hundred Attack Point for each face-up monster I control." He laughed cheerfully, hand on his hips much. "Oh and don't forget Videon's little effect. Now it gains an extra eight-hundred points, ha ha."

Konami showed obvious interest, watching two forces embody the opposing Videon as it grew in both power and size.

Morphtronic Videon - (LIGHT/Machine) - LV4 - (3400/1000)

"Now, time show that turtle who reigns supreme. Videon, attack UFO Turtle now."

Morphtronic Videon charged forward, its body seeping with power as it smashed the turtle's hard shell with his left arm. It cried in pain as its shell exploded into a thousand fragments, with its remains showering down on its owner.

**KONAMI - 6000 LP**

**LEO - 8000 LP**

"That's how I roll!" Leo smiled, swinging his arm around. "This duel's mine."

"You think so?" Red Hat frowned. "Well, it sure doesn't look that way to me, because UFO Turtle has a special ability! When it's destroyed by battle, I get to special summon yet another FIRE Monster from my Deck with fifteen-hundred Attack points or less! So come forth, Solar Flare Dragon."

A wave of fire formed where the previously destroyed monster stood, as the fiery Chinese dragon appeared on the field, his body covered amongst the numerous flames dancing around him.

Solar Flare Dragon - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (1500/1000)

Leo only laughed. "Bring out any monster you want. It won't help when facing my super powered Videon."

"Is that so?" Konamia shot back. "Well, then, it's a good thing I have my Face-Down, Damage Condenser!"

"Damage what?" an obviously confused Leo asked.

"It summons a monster from my deck whose Attack Points are equal to or less than the damage I just took." He smiled, electricity emanating from the newly card. "So in a way my teacher would say, the more pain you'll deal, the more hurt you'll feel!" An image of Crowler flashed in his head. "Rise now, King Pyron."

In a ray of fire, appeared the blazing figure, taking a slow step from the flames that concealed it, making its way beside the dragon.

King Pyron - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV5 - (1500/500)

Leo's eyes widened in amazement, gazing upon the newly summoned monster as he couldn't help but admire it, not bothering to say anything but he knew it was no threat to him or his monster.

"But I'm not stopping there," Konami continued. "I'm just getting started, because from my Hand, I summon yet another monster! I would like for you to get acquainted with my Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon."

Leo snapped out of his daze, his eyes widening in confusion. A dark haze erupted around them, announcing the arrival of the creature of darkness flying to the field. Spreading its purple wings, it let out a bloodcurdling roar of anger as its red eyes pierced the darkness surrounding it.

InterplanetaryPurplythorny Dragon - (DARK/Dragon) - LV5 - (2200/1100)

"Hey, wait a second," Leo whinned, "You can't summon a monster when it's still my turn! That's cheating!"

"Actually, it's not!" Konami replied. "Interplanetarypurlythorny has an effect that allows me to Special summon it, if a monster I controlled was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. Pretty cool ability, wouldn't you say?"

"This isn't looking good. The crowd is not liking this at all!" Leo narrated.

"Crowd?" Konami asked, confused, glancing to his side, but there was not a soul in the lobby aside from them.

"The amazing Leo's move has backfired on him. Will he be able to recover?" he continued, reaching for his hand. "Time will only tell, because he's ending his Turn with a Face-Down card."

"Um, OK," Koanmi replied. "My Turn then! Draw!

**TURN THREE - KONAMI**

"Hmm, what to do, what to do?" Konami asked himself. "Oh, wait I know. I'll re-summon King Pyron."

The Pyron king burst into flames, but instantly began reforming itself, to the same, but somehow more effective version. The Morphtornic duelist was confused at the sight, as he never heard of such a thing before.

"Wait, you can't do that?" he cried. "Can you?"

"Yes, it's a Gemini Monster," Konami explained. "These types of monsters are treated as Normal Monsters when in the Graveyard and on the field, but by re-summoning themselves with their effect, they can be reborn as Effect monsters."

"Really…? Well, as it impressive and complicated as that sounds," Leo said, "it's not going to be around long enough to activate whatever effect you were planning on using."

"?" Konami's eyes widened, realizing he'd overlooked one thing.

"So you realized it huh, but it's too late for you now," Leo exclaimed, as he pressed a button his Duel Disk. His face-down card was opened, revealing the image of a powerful Trap. "I activate Solemn Judgment. Now by paying half my Life Points, I can negate your monster's summoning and destroy it."

** KONAMI - 6000 LP**

**LEO - 4000 LP**

Konami's eyebrow rose, watching his Gemini monster disappear permanently. "_Well, I can't say that was a very bright move; using Solemn Judgment when I still have two monsters on the Field._"

"Well, that was a good move," lied Konami, not wanting to hurt the boy's feelings. "But it's still my move and I activate Spell Shattering Arrow to destroy every face-up Spell Card on your field, and you lose five hundred Life Points for each one, and last time I count, you have a total of two."

"WHAAAAT?" shouted Leo in disbelief. "This is an unexpected turn of events. The crowd is hushed. The tables are slowly being turned on the amazing Leo."

Two arrows were shot, piercing the two Equip Spells, causing them to shatter into millions of pieces with the fragments striking the green-haired boy.

**KONAMI - 6000 LP**

**LEO - 3000 LP**

"Oh, and since your equip cards are all but shattered, I'm afraid your Videon loses its power boost."

Leo gritted his teeth, showing every sign he was worried as his monster shrunk to its original size.

Morphtronic Videon - (LIGHT/Machine/Effect) - LV4 - (1000/1000)

"Now, Solar Flare Dragon, attack Morptronic Videon," Konami shouted, thrusting his arm forward.

Without another thought, the dragon lunged towards the machine, wrappings its body around it before devouring it whole, much to Leo's disgust as his Life Points dropped ever so slightly.

**KONAMI - 6000 LP**

**LEO - 2500 LP**

"The crowd does not like this one bit," Leo narrated once more, looking nervously at his empty field.

Konami smiled. "Then they're defiantly not going to like this. InterplanetaryPurplythorny Dragon, attacks his Life Point directly."

The monster released a mighty roar, flying towards the defenseless child, unsheathing claws as it slashed through him.

**KONAMI - 6000 LP**

**LEO - 300 LP**

Leo smirked, falling to his knees even though there was no real pain behind the attack. "Nice try, but it's going to take more than that to defeat me!"

"That may be," Konami replied. "So that's why I'm ending my Turn."

"Then back to-huh?" Leo gasped, watching Solar Flare Dragon release a mirage of fire at him.

Konami covered his mouth, acting surprised. "Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention my Dragon can deal you five-hundred points of damage during each of my End Phases?"

"What? But that means," Leo managed to rasp out, watching his Life Points get reduced to nothing. "I lose!"

**KONAMI - 6000 LP**

** LEO - 0 LP**

As the solid vision started disappearing, Konami deactivated his Duel Disk and walked over to his fallen opponent.

"That was sure a great duel. Let's do it again sometime," he smiled, offering him his hand. "_Still, he could have made a few better moves than that._"

He looked at him, confused, and filled with sadness, wanting to swat the boy's extended hand away and run off until an idea popped up in his mind. "Hey, you're a pretty good duelist, aren't you?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," he replied, retracting his hand, somehow knowing he was going to get asked for help.

"I'm currently looking for a few people to duel but, I'm having trouble finding them. I need someone to act as my partner so could you help me?" Leo asked.

"I knew it," Konami murmured to himself. "And who might these duelists be?"

A wide smile formed on his face. "The Black Rose Witch and the Shadow Emperor of Dragons."

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

**END**

* * *

**With Konami starting to adjust to his new life in the alternate universe, he finds himself sidetracked from the reason why he traveled so far, but with the sudden request from the Morphtronic user, will he be able to sort everything out and continue his quest, or will he lose sight of what's really important? Find out, next time, on Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy!**


	3. 2) Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

"That's the reason why I need your help. So what do you say?" Leo asked, finished explaining, holding his hand out. "Helping the future Duel King on his quest for greatness isn't that bad of a deal, you know!"

"So let me get this straight," the teen started, looking at the boy strangely. "You're putting all your trust into me… a perfect stranger you just met to help you search for a couple of duelists with destructive, but unknown powers who're each dangerous in their own way…"

Leo nodded, eyes closed, failing to notice Konami's long sigh.

"…and you've been planning this for all of… five days?"

Leo nodded once more, opening his eyes and flashing Konami a goofy smile.

"Yeah, and even though my sister said I needed to think this through a bit more, I've already enhanced my Deck," Leo laughed deeply, hand on his hips, much to Red Hat's embarrassment, even though the lobby was still empty. "So what do you say? Will you help me?"

…

"No."

His response caused the boy's eyes to widen.

"Look, you're a nice kid and all." Konami began, remembering this boy was only a child. "It's that I can't just help you-"

"WHAAAT?" he cried, tears flowing down his eyes. "Why, why, why, why, why, why?" Leo whinned. "I dueled you when I didn't have to, so you at least owe me that much. Come on. Please?"

Red Hat backed up from the boy's sudden outburst.

Just as he got ready to calm the kid down, Leo grabbed his left leg and wrapped both of his arms around it.

"What the heck? Leo, let go of my leg before someone sees us!" Konami shouted, swinging his leg into the air while trying to pry him off, but to no avail.

"No way, not until after you help me find the Shadow Emperor and Black Rose Witch," Leo snapped, tightening the grip he had on his leg. Though he failed to notice he was causing Red Hat a great deal of pain. "I mean it."

"Hands off kid, he's my partner," the familiar voice of a reporter rang in both the boys' ears, prompting the two to pause and turn to the entrance. Much to their curiosity, revealing nobody, but Konami didn't need to see the person to know who it was.

Konami's rolled his eyes in obvious annoyance. "_I need to get a restraining order._"

* * *

**Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

**Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship**

* * *

"Thought you could escape me, didn't you? But you can't run from a determined reporter like me forever!" the reporter announced, appearing from under the counter she took the liberty of hiding behind when he was distracted by his duel.

"C-Carly," Konami forced a smiled. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but how did you find me?"

She grinned, "Heh, I had a feeling you would try to run from me again!" The women stated wagging her finger mockingly, "But I learned a lot from my last fifteen encounters with you!"

"Don't stalk me like a creepy weirdo?" Koami murmured under his breath.

Carly scowled. "NO!" she hissed. "It's always good to know where your posse is. So, that's why I planted a tracking chip on your before you left me with the bill for that fifty dollar pastry you bought and never paid for," she reminded the boy, taking a slip of paper from her pocket.

"_She-she put a tracking chip on me? What a freak,_" Konami thought, feeling a bit violated, but managed to return his usual carefree look to his face. "Hahaha, I must say, you're truly one in a million, Carly."

Leo frowned, not liking being left out of the conversation, so he spoke up. "Excuse me, Mr. Kudo," he called out, the two glancing down at the boy. "Um, I don't mean to pry do you know this woman?"

Before Konami could answer, she beat the boy to the response, "I'm Carly Carmine. I'm a reporter, and I just wanted to ask the boy whose leg you're cuddling a question or two…"

"R-Reporter…?" Leo replied, confused.

She nodded, "Hm, that's right. Is something wrong?"

"Re-port-er… Reporter," he pondered, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Isn't that the thing that looks like a flute? I always wanted one of those, but, sadly, you're not what I was excepting in such a small machine. Though, you do seem to talk a lot."

"What?" Konami and Carly asked in unison. "I think you're talking about a recorder." Konami sighed before grinning, "But you're right about one thing; she certainly has a big mouth… and unlike most people, she doesn't know how to keep it shut!"

Leo laughed.

"Hey," Carly frowned, but the both of them ignored her.

Konami glanced at the two with an unrecognizable look. "Hey, Leo," Red Hat whispered down to the boy still tightly holding his leg. "If you can help me get rid of this girl, I'll think about helping you, alright?"

The boy in question looked shocked, but then smiled. "You got yourself a deal."

"HELLO, I'm right here. I heard every word you two were just saying," the reporter butted in, waving her hand in the air. "You know, I didn't wake up in the morning on my car cushion to be treated like this. All I want is a big story, and you can't even give me that. Maybe I should write a story about the Crimson Beast being a cold-hearted person. How would that make you feel, huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? You're still not listening to me are you-?"

"**Humans… such strange and annoying creatures,**" Rosari sweat dropped. "**I've spent three years living with you, master, but I still don't understand the human species.**"

"**My Lord, with all due respect, I think you should get rid of this girl now,**" Silent Knight suggested, ears covered, listening to the girl's nonstop rant. "**She's getting under my skin.**"

"**I agree with this big strong knight,**" Wynn smirked, wrapping her arms around the knight's, much to his embarrassment, his face turning beet red. "We're on a mission, and the last thing we need is some bitch stalking us."

"**Language, long lady,**" Eatos scolded. "**But she's right.**"

Konami turned his attention back to a steaming hot Carly, before nodding his heads in agreement.

"Leo…"

"I know, I'm really starting to get annoyed with this girl too… and that's really saying something, because usually it's the other way around," he replied, pulling a small remote in his pocket.

"?" Carly, along with Red Hat, showed some confusion. "What is that?" she asked, arms crossed.

"I don't know," he admitted, causing the two to sweat drop. "I wasn't paying attention when my parents gave me and my sister this, but luckily Luna was. It's supposed to be an instant security alarm," he said, gesturing to a large, red button in the middle. "My dad invented this in case an intruder ever broke into this apartment."

"_I'm starting to like this kid_," Konami thought with a huge grin.

Carly scowled, "Oh, please, don't threaten me. That's probably just some kiddy toy you bought on-line. Now step aside, boy. I need Konami's help if I want to get my debut report and kick-start my journalist career."

"But… to kick-start your journalist career, wouldn't you have to be a journalist first? I mean, according to the blog I read, you're just a blogger who works as an unpaid intern for the Daily Duel, if I read the information right," Konami pointed out.

"What?" Carly scowled. "Why you- wait blog? What blog?"

_"Oh, I forgot, she doesn't know about the blog Angela set up,_" Konami thought, his gaze adverted from the blogger. "_I probably shouldn't tell Carly that, though. I don't like her that much, but I don't want her to get too upset over this and do something stupid._"

"Well?" she said, more demanding than asking, jumping over the desk. "What are you talking about?"

Konami smirked, trying to play it cool. "Don't worry. I was just jok-" he tried, but got interrupted.

"Huh, oh I think he's talking about that blog that Angel character set up a week ago," Leo exclaimed, glancing at the stunned women head to toe, his eyes widening with realization. "Oh, now I remember you. You're that person Angela described as a total loser from high school to adulthood. You wouldn't believe how many nasty things she has on you."

Carly's mouth dropped, eyes burning with rage. "THAT BITCH," she yelled from the top of her lungs, running out of the apartment at full speed. "DON'T THINK FOR ONE SECOND YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY WITH THIS. YOU'LL BE HEARING FROM MY LAWYERS… WHEN I GET SOME!"

The door slammed shut, leaving the two boys confused and a bit shocked.

"W-well that was a bit unexpected," Konami muttered, before smiling. "Still, that woman sure does amusing things."

"Hey, Mister Kudo," Leo called, making Konami look down. "You're still going to keep your promise to help me, right? I did help get that woman off your back."

Red Hat sighed, never imagining this boy would be able to get rid of someone as persistent as Carly, but of course he never went back on his word and he wasn't going to start now.

"Of course I am, Leo," he replied. "Oh, and one more thing before we leave…!"

"What?"

He gave the boy a brief smile. "Could you please let go of my leg?"

**-5D's-**

"Sorry about that," apologized an embarrassed Leo, rubbing the back of his head as they left the apartment. "I forgot to take my medication when I woke up, so I'm a bit high on nerves lately, but we're cool now, right?"

"Yeah, don't sweat it, kid. It's no big deal," replied a relaxed Konami. "I've dealt with a lot of people in Duel Academy the four years I went there, so I can put up with just about anything!"

"Great, then what are we waiting for?" Leo asked. "Let's go find the Shadow Emperor and Black Rose Witch!"

Konami couldn't help but sweat drop, but also admire the boy's enthusiasm at the same time. Though, that could come back to bite him someday.

"Ok, Leo, so what's our plan?" he asked.

Leo looked at him, with a confused look on his face. "Huh? A plan…?"

"You don't have a plan, do you?" Konami face-palmed, "Now, I know how my spirits feel when I rush into things."

The boy's back straightened, stared, and felt an uneasy feeling come over him. Leo looked at Red Hat strangely. Did he just say Spirits? How did he…?

"You know about Duel Spirits?" he asked, taking the boy off guard.

"Yes, I experienced a lot of strange things at the Academy," Konami replied steadily, not losing his composure for an instant. "_How does he know about Duel Spirits? It's pretty rare for a kid of his age to know about them._"

Wynn giggled. "**Nice one, master. You sure do know how to keep quiet.**"

_"I didn't realize I was talking out loud, but it's no big deal," thought Red Hat with a yawn. "It's actually not rare for a few people to know about Duel Spirits these days. What's rare is if they could see them._"

"**Do you think this cute little brat can see Duel Spirits?**" Wynn asked curiously, eyeing the boy with a soft smile. "**He's kind a handsome**,** actually. Maybe he wouldn't mind partnering up with me.**"

_"You know, in actuality, that could classify you as a pedophile,_" Konami sighed, still walking to wherever Leo was leading him, "_And_ _I don't think he could see spirits, because he would probably have commented on that little remark you made._"

She shrugged her shoulders. "**Sorry, I'm just desperate for a man, is all.**"

"_What about Silent Knight?_"

"**Huh? What about him?**"

Konami sweat dropped. "_You really are hopeless, Wynn. Can't even tell when someone's in love with you._"

**"SOMEONE'S IN LOVE WITH ME?**" Wynn squealed. "**I bet it's Rosaria! I knew he had a thing for me. I can't wait to tell Eatos… oh wait, I forgot she told me she doesn't care about these types of things.**"

"_N-No, its Silent-_" he tried, but was interrupted.

"**Oh, well. See ya.**"

Red Hat massaged his forehead, trying to ease the pain of the head ache he was having.

"_I need an aspirin_." It was the only thing he could say, until noticing he was in front of a practically empty ice cream shop. "Leo… why did you bring me here, weren't we supposed to find this Shadow Emperor and Black Rose Witch?"

Rubbing the back of his head with an awkward smile, he replied, "Well, I was getting a bit hungry, so I decided to get some ice cream first."

"_I'm too much of a nice guy to be agreeing this. That's going to bite me in the butt one day, if I'm not careful,_" Konami sighed, really not feeling in the mood to eat, but decided to go along with it. "I'm fine with that. Besides, it could give us some time to get know each other."

"That's sounds pretty boring." Leo frowned. "Instead, how about you get me a vanilla ice cream cone, then we can talk?"

Konami forced a smile. "I see. So I'm the one who's paying?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much it," Leo replied, running into the shop.

Sweat dropping as he followed in after the boy, Konami wondered how he kept getting mixed up in these types of situations.

Walking into the shop, and like the last shop, a small jingle announced his arrival. As he entered the small room, a shot of cold sensation filled his body.

Glancing around, he could see the shop was filled with a sizable amount of customers who were either sitting in front of small mahogany tables with napkins and sprinkles on top. Like the coffee shop, many other tables were scattered in an orderly fashion across the room. The walls were a tan yellow color. Finally, three counters stood on the opposite side of the building with transparent glass in the middle, revealing who knows how many flavors of ice cream.

_"I've got a slight case of déjà v_u here, but what we are going to do, but just go with the flow," he thought, walking to a vacant counter a few feet from him. "_Why **do** I keep agreeing to these sorts of things anyway? If I had a nickel for every time I kept a promise to a total stranger, I would be as rich as Chazz is._"

Making his way to the counter, he rang a small bell resting on top, prompting a chubby man, with a thick grey beard, wearing a white outfit, to appear from under. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this man had recently gone senile from the look in his blue-eyes.

"Welcome to Baskin-Robins! What would you like to order?" the man asked, with an obvious fixed smile.

Konami sighed. "A vanilla ice cream on a waffle cone, please."

"Excellent choice, Mr…"

"Kudo… Konami Kudo," he answered, keeping his smile.

His eyes widened briefly, grabbing a broad metal spoon, reaching down below and scooping a big chunk of vanilla goodness from bellow.

"You wouldn't happen to the duelist nicknamed the Crimson Beast, would you?" the man asked, placing the scoop on a waffle cone he grabbed a few moments back. "Because you've been making quiet a name yourself, and it's hard to believe you're the same person who moved here after barely graduating Duel Academy."

"Yeah, I know," he nodded, grabbing the ice cream cone, before his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Wait, how would you know how I did in Duel Academy?"

The man's eyes narrowed in apparent shock, staring at the boy as if he was crazy.

"Um, because I'm your uncle… I think. Am, I? Hmm, maybe I should take a vacation. I'm starting to get forgetful in my old age."

Konami's back straightened, his mouth opened, notably shocked at the news he'd heard.

Uncle, that's not possible?! Back in his universe, he never had parents, siblings or a family, at that matter. So how can his alternate self have one?

"_Seems like, I need to do some investi-_"

"Hey, Konami," Leo shouted from behind, causing the boy to flinch in embarrassment. "Where's my ice cream?"

Slowly turning his head to the side,to keep his composure. "I'm getting it, OK? Just be a bit more patient."

"Sorry, but I need to get started as soon as possible," he replied, thrusting his arm forward dramatically. "After all… I'm the one… who's going to beat… the Shadow Emperor…. of Dragons… and the… Black Rose… Witch!"

"WHAT!" everyone in the store shouted!

Konami was caught off guard from the sudden outburst of the customers; he nearly jumped out of his skin. Though, the shop was then filled with laughs of amusement.

"The Black Rose Witch; isn't she only a myth?" one of them laughed. "Only a complete idiot would believe in such nonsense!"

The others couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, I can understand a kid believing that, but a grown man? What an idiot!"

"Maybe he's just a pedophile trying to get close to the kid," another one joked.

Konami sulked. He didn't remember this city being so unpleasant.

"_I wonder what Eatos and the others are doing?_" he thought.

**-5D's-**

Within a mystical realm filled with darkness and despair were the contents of Konami's deck. The world these spirits were living in was a universe created from the construction of their master's Deck. It's not surprising, because unbeknownst to many duelists in the word, for each deck created, it will also create a new universe.

Though, the spirits in Red Hat's Deck didn't quite understand why the world they've lived in for so long was so bleak and depressing. It's odd, because these universes created reflects on the duelist's soul, not what cards they have.

Within the darkest depths on this world rested Eatos, floating in silence through the shadows. The darkness didn't bother her. She'd grown accustom to it, because aside from Kristya, she had been by Konami's side for the longest. Though, like many, she also held questions as to why this place was like it was.

Her master could be incompetent and rash at times, but she knew for a fact that his soul couldn't be this bleak and dank. There was something amiss at work, but she couldn't figure out what was happening. Sure, Konami held a lot of secrets he hadn't told anyone but his card spirit.

Ever since his last day at the Academy, thing weren't adding up with him!

It was strange, but there was no use in anyone dwelling on such trivial matters. They were on an important mission to get their friend back, no matter what the cost, so they had to stay focused.

She couldn't help but sigh.

"_**If I only my master would try approaching things in a more strategic way instead of his own,**_" she thought, remembering every ridiculous thing Konami had done since he found her seven years ago. "_**Though, knowing him, it would be unlikely he would do anything of the sort.**_"

"**Madame Eatos…**" a civil voice called from above.

Glancing up, the angel saw Silent Knight floating above her, with his usual seriousness, but at the same time, respectful look.

"**What is it?**" Eatos asked.

**"****Wynn told me that she did as you ordered her to do,**" Silent Knight replied. "**She impersonated this Mikage Simington character and gained vital information from Director Goodwin on the Shadow Emperor.**"

Even though there were no signs of joy from Eatos, it was obvious to anyone this Fairy was happy at what she was hearing. "**How nice, and did Goodwin suspect anything out of the ordinary?**" she asked.

The knight simply shook his head as a response. "**No, I don't think he did,**" he replied, "**though, I'm a bit curious on the matter. Our lord never gave us permission to do anything like this so why are we going behind his back?**"

She frowned, turning her head to the side. "**It's because the child's too naïve. I can sense there are powerful forces running amok in this city**,** not just this Shadow Emperor character. It's impossible to know if any of them pose a threat to us, but it's better to be on the safe side**."

"**My lady, I understand that much, but if there's a chance these forces are a threat to anyone,**** wouldn't it be better to tell Lord Konami this?**" asked the Silent Knight, floating down in front of the Fairy. "**With all due respect, I know you want to prepare him for anything, but keeping him in the dark could lead to many consequences!**"

Eatos grinned with no emotion. "**If I had told Konami any of this, he would have confronted whatever I've been sensing in a heartbeat and if that did happen, it might have been the last on he had. I'm going to keep this from him until the time's right.**"

"**Until the time's right,**" Silent Knight repeated, his head perking up. "**My lady, what do you mean?**"

"**I've sensed evil forces in this Neo Domino since we've arrived here three months ago,**" Eatos said, serious as she always. "**So I've been preparing a few precautions to help Konami as he further grows as both a person and a duelist!**"

"**Such as…?**" the knight asked.

"**Well, it's kind of hard to explain…**" Eatos replied. "**I wasn't always Konami's Spirit Partner, I once belonged to a man named Raphael, and it was because** **of**** him that I was able to know of their existence and bring them back to this world in this form.**"

Three bolts of red, purple, and green electricity shot down from the sky, creating a huge shockwave, almost shattering the universe of darkness as it summoned three stone tablets of un-proportional size.

"**My ladies, are these what I think they are?**" Silent Knight managed to rasp out.

With a smile of genuine joy, she responded, "**These are the three Legendary Dragons used to defeat the power of the Orichalcos more than fourteen years ago; Hermos, Timeaus, and Critas. Once, they're freed from this stone prison they'll**** be able to help our master.**"

His eyes widened**. **"**I've heard stories about these creatures,**" Silent Knight noted, "**but why are they sealed in stone Tablets? I've heard they returned to the Spirit World after completing their duty.**"

"**Hehe… duty.**" Wynn giggled.

_Wham!_

Cracking her knuckles, Eatos glared at the girl she just bashed in the head with anger and contempt. "**What are you? four?**"

"**You witch,**" Wynn hissed, charging towards the angel, only to have Rosaria cut in between the two.

"**Take it easy now,**" Rosari said in annoyance. "**Can't you two just get along?**"

"**I'll get along with that witch when she starts treating me respect,**" Wynn hissed, "**I got vital information on this Shadow Emperor and I expect a thank you for me being so awesome.**"

"**Thanks for being so awesome,**" Silent Knight complimented with a warm smile.

She scowled, "**Not from you. I meant Rosaria!**"

Silent Knight sulked, walking away in embarrassment, causing Eatos, Rosaria and the other spirits watching the scene to stare back at Wynn.

"**What?**" Wynn asked, obviously confused. "**What did I do?**"

Solar Flare Dragon shook his head with obvious disappointment. "**Cluelessness really irritates me beyond belief,**" he roared, chasing after the sadden Knight.

"**What a clueless girl you are, Wynn,**" Rosari sighed. "**You have to be more sensitive of other spirits' feelings... especially Silent Knight. Your opinion of him matters more than our master's.**"

"**Really, why's that?**"

Every spirit surrounding her grumbled.

"**Nevermind, let's just let Eatos explain the state of these Stone Tablets,**" Rosari decided to change the subject. "**I'm curious to know why these legendary dragons are in this state. Last I heard,**** they were resting peacefully in the Spirit World**."

Eatos grimaced. "**Well, they were until the Spirit World was taken over,**" she replied, astounding everyone listening.

"**How… how could they not know this already? Am I the only one here who visits the Spirit World anymore?**" she pondered.

"**Well it's complicated, and I don't know all the details, but apparently a group of primates are over running the world and trapping spirits in stone tablets.**"

**"****Wowie, wow, wow,**" Wynn gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. "**So I'm guessing these big strong dragons I read so much about weren't strong enough to take down a bunch of primates. Hmph, how pathetic. For a trio that's supposed to be legendary, they sure not**** meeting up to their standards.**"

_Slap!_

Eatos stretched the hand she used to slap Wynn to the ground. "**Just because they can't hear you, doesn't mean you shouldn't show them the proper respect, young lady,**"she scowled, ignoring the girl's increasing aura. "**They're**** going to help Konami out once he manages to free them from stone somehow**."

"**How is he going to do that if you refuse to tell him?**" Rosaria asked, arms crossed.

Wynn got up, wrapping her arms around Rosaria's left. "**Yeah, this big strong man is right. These overgrown lizards can't help Konami if he doesn't know anything about them.**"

Ignoring Wynn completely, she answered, "**He'll be able to free them from this stone curse one at a time, depending on how**** much Duel Energy he releases.**" She continued, before anyone could ask, "**By generating a substantial amount of duel energy while dueling, he'll be able to free them from this stone curse, but it's easier said than done. He'll have to face stronger opponents than he's already faced before, and I can't allow him to go after someone like this Shadow Emperor, depending if the rumors are true about him.**"

"**So, what do you plan on having him do?**" Wynn asked, sticking her tongue out.

Once again Rosaria tried removing the girl from his arm, but to no avail.

He sighed, "**Yeah, if Konami finds out about this,**** he'll be anything but happy. He told you many times not to baby him in the past.**"

"**I know****,**" Eatos scowled. "**I'm not doing this for him. I'm doing this for Kristya, besides if I know Konami. I think I won't have anything to worry about. For now, I wish you all a good night.**"

**-5D's-**

Night had already fallen for the city. This wasn't too surprising, though. The time in the universe the spirits lived in moved at a much slower pace than it did in the human world, with one minute in their world equaling one hour for humans.

"That was so boring," Leo whined, walking a few steps behind the duelist clad in red. "We searched for the Shadow Emperor for hours and haven't even got one lead on him."

Konami shrugged, making his way down the streets of Downtown once again to his apartment. "Well, what did you expect? We were running around the city randomly, and even if we did find this guy, what were we supposed to do? We didn't have a plan, and- and shouldn't you be going home?"

Leo glared at the boy. "No way. I'm not leaving you alone until we find him and the Black Rose Witch."

Konami sighed, "Leo, I think we should choose one target, and from what my 'uncle' told me about this Black Rose Witch, she might be a less difficult opponent."

"Th-That's so boring," whined the boy even more. "You agreed to help me so it would only be fair that I get to choose who we go after first."

Konami face-palmed listening to the boy's non-stopped whining before coming to a halt.

Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed a quarter. "Let's decide it with a game of luck, OK?"

"Flipping a coin?" Leo asked, tilting his head. "That seems fair, a little lame for sure, but fair."

"Heads, we go after the Black Rose Witch, tails, we go after the Shadow Emperor of Dragons," Konami confirmed, with a nod from Leo.

Flipping the coin into the air, Leo watched in anticipation as it began to the ground, but what they failed to notice was a brisk wind blowing upon it as it landed on the concrete road.

It was heads.

**-5D's-**

Deep within the bowels of Sector Security headquarters Director Goodwin smiled, sitting quietly in front of his desk, watching a recording of Jack's latest victory on the laptop positioned before him. As always, his champion put on another excellent performance. Though it was to be expected, with the man being as skilled as he was, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was a chance he'd be defeated before everything he'd plan had been set into motion.

True, something like that had always seemed too insignificant to be taken seriously or given much consideration. However, with things in both the city and Satellite playing out differently then he would have liked, taking chances wouldn't be the best option if he wanted to maintain control of everything.

Casually, he glanced at a stack of wanted posters beside him, grasping one and staring at the information presented. It wasn't someone he knew, but he'd become accustomed to seeing this individual's face time and time again over the passing years.

Having his plans and goals come to fruition had become more difficult since this duelist had made herself known, and he's been anything but kind to his officers, but he couldn't dwell on such matters. He needed to focus on keeping everything running smoothly so it would be best to let someone else handle this criminal for now.

Goodwin chuckled, turning to turning his attention back to the duel, reminding himself that he'd been put in more difficult situations than this. There wasn't any point in wasting his time to deal with such petty matters. He had all the people he needed that could do his bidding.

The Shadow Emperor of Darkness had proven himself to be a worthy advisory indeed, but he was the least of his worries. There were many people who could pose a hindrance to his ambitions that needed to be taken down.

He turned head to the side, hiding a frown as he gazed upon the city, but his attention was more focused on its central area.

The rest would be up to fate, because if there was anything Goodwin learned from his extensive research was that he needed to keep everyone in the dark, before striking, and when he did, there were things that he could promise…

Duel Academy Sanctuary and Arcadia would not survive his assault, but for now he needed to tend to his own business.

All of a sudden, his cell phone rang.

Goodwin reached over his desk, grabbing it and gazing at the number from his caller ID. The number was familiar to him because he'd gotten called many times in the past by the same person, going five years now.

Pushing its red button, he held it to his ear and heard an expected voice through the line.

"Director Goodwin, it's me; Mikage. We need to talk."

"Yes, what is it?" Goodwin asked.

"It's about the Shadow Emperor. I'm ready to discuss the matter now!"

Goodwin's eye brow rose in confusion, "What are you talking about? We already discussed the matter a few hours ago?"

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

**END**

* * *

**With Eatos's intentions surfaced, will she be able to keep them hidden from Konami long enough for him to stay out of danger until she's got the power of the three Legendary Dragons on their side, or will the boy's curiosity get the better of him as he ventures deeper into his quest? Find out next time, on, Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy!**


	4. 3) Forbidden Power

It was a dark and silent night; nothing could be heard within the shallow forest except the howling wind, and cawing of ravens as they descended into the moonlit sky. Everything was at peace…

Except for one entity, lying motionless on the ground, where there was only pain that plagued him. The ground was either burnt or drenched in seawater, trees had gotten slashed and boulders littered the clearing.

His body was torn, slashed and soaked in his own blood as it continued to seep from his wounds.

For a moment his eyes gleamed, revealing that he still held life, despite the dullness creeping upon them. It was impossible to tell how long he had been there, but it was obvious, especially to him, that he was going to die.

It was almost unbearable. How could this happen… to him?

In a few moments or so… his life would be cut short. But, from his perspective, the situation was more unfair than tragic. He would never get a chance to make any of his dreams a reality… or carry out the goals he set forward. And, all because he had lacked the strength needed to carry out these ambitions.

Just the thought filled his heart with even greater sadness.

At that moment dark tendrils emerged beneath him, almost instantly wrapping around his body. He didn't utter a word, even as he was slowly dragged into a pit of infinite darkness.

Gazing into the sky at the full moon, for what seemed for the last time, he couldn't help but remember what motivated him to venture into the outside world. It was his best memory, but instead of happiness, he felt doubt for the first time as questions began echoing in his head.

How could this have happen to him?

Was his will so weak it could easily be shattered by a few people?

Was everything he had done up until now meaningless?

Was there a point in going through everything he'd been forced into for all these years?

It wasn't fair! What did he do wrong? What did he do to deserve this?

Actually, to him, he wasn't surprised by the turn of events. It was only expected. No world is with peace. He had realized that year's ago. This endless, chaotic, hate-filled hell he'd been forced to live in for so long now… is called this very same world.

His eyes shut, showing no signs of life, as he got swallowed into darkness.

* * *

**Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

**Forbidden Power**

* * *

Konami's eyes snapped wide opened, nearly falling off his bed. He was breathing hard as sweat came down his face and, his body was shaking from fear of what happened so many years ago. He slowly held his trembling arm to his face, looking at the scar that was left as a result of that horrible night.

"**My lord, is there something wrong?**" Silent Knight asked, even though his attention was focused out the window at the cool night sky.

He took deep breath and exhaled, trying to get hold of himself. "No, nothing's wrong! I just had a bad dream," he replied, lying back down.

"**It was that dream you had again, wasn't it?**" the knight asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Covering his head with a pillow, he sighed. "Yes, but it doesn't matter anymore. It happened a long time ago."

"**I know, but I'm worried about your well-being,**" Silent Knight admitted. "**I may not have been there to see what went down that night, and I know the same could be said about Madame Eatos and the others,**" he paused, turning to face his lord, "**but if what you told us really did happen, I can't help but wonder if you hold a bit sorrow within you.**"

"I already told you, don't worry about it," Konami snapped, whipping his head around. "It happened years ago so it's a little late for you to worry about it now. So how about you mind your own business, and stay out of mine?"

Silent Knight bowed respectfully, "**Whatever you say, my Lord,**" he replied, disappearing in a flash of bright light.

Red Hat slumped down to his bed, his eyes focused only on the ceiling with so many thoughts swirling in his mind.

He knew his spirit partners had always been worried about him, but right now he didn't need their help, nor did he want it. What happened to him was in the past, and there was no changing what occurred or what he found out that night. Even though he found out so much about himself, the only people he ever told were invisible to the world while keeping everything from the friends he made at the academy.

It was wrong for him to do that… that much he knew, but luckily for him, his friends never caught on to any of his lies or uncovered the many secrets surrounding him, with their suspicions on him seeming to have evaporated some time ago.

Still, Konami knew once he returned to his own dimension he wouldn't be able to keep his past hidden from his friends much longer, but right now he just had to focus on finding Krista and not focus on such trivial matters! What he needed was to be alone for now.

However, the more Red Hat thought about it he couldn't help but wonder if this was what his alternate self was feeling when he was attending Duel Academy. Though, it really didn't matter.

Closing his eyes, he let out a sigh. "I guess that would have to remain a mystery, because from what I could gather on him is that we lived two different lives." Konami frowned, a tear rolling down his eye. "He wasn't alone from the beginning like I was, so why should I worry about his life? The only people I should be worrying about at the time are my partners, Kristya, and me."

"You're wrong!"

"!" Konami eyes widened, falling off the edge of his bed, whipping the sheets off his face as he turned to see who had just spoken to him.

A chuckle could be heard from down the halls as an uninvited guest slowly steeped from the shadows that concealed him, careful to keep his face hidden, but Konami didn't need to see him to know who this man was.

"You should only be worried about yourself."

"Well, I should have known I'd be seeing you eventually," Konami said, fake smiling, hiding his pure and utter disgust. "_I guess my alternate self and his friends in this universe didn't take this mad man down like I did in mine._"

After the months he spent living here, maybe he shouldn't have just dismissed this man as a minor threat, just because he managed to defeat his universe's counterpart. It was a shame…

Last time left a bad taste in his mouth, but there was no helping it now. Like in his own universe, he might be forced to take him out.

The man chuckled once more, as a purplish-dark aura bathed his body, revealing him to be who the boy had already guessed. His green eyes stared deeply at the boy, causing him to wince as he stepped inside, not bothering to turn on the light. They had already been acquainted with their alternate selves…

"Take me out…? You're certainly different from that "Yellow Hat" Konami who ran screaming when he saw my aura!" Divine smiled, raising a brow as the boy didn't seem to get caught off guard at what he said. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter who you actually are, because in another moment, you'll be mine."

"_This Divine may be older than the one I encountered in my universe, but he's still as overconfident as ever,_" Konami thought, gritting his teeth. "You're a lot sharper then I gave your credit for. How'd you know I wasn't the real "Yellow Hat," Konami?"

Divine couldn't help but laugh. "How'd I know? Well, your change of coloring was a dead ringer, but what really made it clear was how different a person you are. Don't you know, me and Yellow Hat had many encounters in Duel Academy, and I saw what type of person and how good of a duelist he was." He shook his head disappointingly. "When I heard he managed to secure a spot in the top forty with skills on a different level then what he had after retiring, I found it quite strange. Words of advice; if you want to steal someone's identity and not get caught, make sure you know what you're doing. Then again, that's the only trait from him you managed to get right."

Red Hat wasn't fazed by the man's word. The only emotion he did have was annoyance.

"Hmph, well aren't you quite the detective?" Konami mocked, taking a fighting position. "But I'm confused… if you know what the real Konami is like, then you must know he isn't anything special," he said, not sure of the words he was saying, but continued. "So why would someone like you be interested in a person copying a total nobody?"

Divine only smirked, reaching inside his pockets and revealing a Duel Monster card. He took a few steps forward, his cold aura enveloping the room, making it obvious to Konami that he was far different than the Divine he'd encountered in his universe.

"Answer me this, Konami, or whoever you are, what monetary value does this card hold to you?" asked Divine, flipping it over, revealing what it was.

Konami frowned, trying to see through the darkness the surrounded him, but no sooner did he freeze.

"Ar-Archlord Kristya?" Konami chocked out, as he turned to glare at the Divine. "How did you…?"

"Let's just say I was able to get this at the right cost," Divine answered, with a smug smile, grasping the card with the fingers of each of his hands on both sides, lightly pulling in the opposite direction. "I don't quite know what's going on or who you are, but I intend to get answers soon, but that's beside the point. I came by to leave a little message. I heard that you planned to go after the Black Rose Witch, and I would be more than happy to help in finding her."

Konami clinched in his hands, wanting to lunge forward, but by the way Divine was holding Kristya it wouldn't end well on his part, so he decided it was best to keep his cool and play along… for now.

"_Even if he's an adult in this universe, I don't think he'd be the type of person who would just offer help without a catch; better me careful,_" he thought. "Ok, what's the catch? There must be something in it for you."

"Well, like I said before, I intend to get answers and a certain reward as a result, and you'll the only one who can give them to me… or so what I've heard," he replied.

His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that? Who told you what exactly?" Red Hat asked.

Divine shook his head. "There are just some questions you shouldn't ask." He then stepped back into the shadows. "If you want Kristya back, then I suggest you come to the Diamon Area at eleven AM. That's where your opponent will be waiting. So for now, I bid adieu."

"Wait a second," Konami yelled after the man, charging at top speed.

Divine simply smiled, blocking the incoming punch with his x-crossed arms. Obviously this kid was better trained than Yellow Hat, though he was a bit pressed for time.

He grabbed onto the boy's elbow and arm, and threw him over his shoulder, towards the door.

Konami quickly recovered, flipping in mid-air and landing on his feet. He attempted another charge, only to see Divine holding a different card in his hand. "**Hinotama!**" He smirked, invoking the card with his physic powers.

In small flash of light, a spherical ball of fire appeared before him. It flew towards him without warning.

Konami ducked as the attack exploded behind him, causing him to get sent spiraling forward. It was at this point Divine saw his opportunity, and lunged at him. Then quickly and swiftly, he grabbed the boy's arm, pinning him to the wall.

Red Hat's eyes narrowed and, with quick thinking, he lifted his leg ever so slightly and delivered Divine a powerful back kick in the one place the sun should never shine.

Divine let out a howl of pain, quickly releasing the boy, falling to the ground, crutched over in pain.

Without thinking, Konami jumped on top of his intruder, rolled him over and pinned him to the ground, holding his arm tightly behind his back.

"Well, that took longer than I thought," he grinned victoriously, noticing Kristya lying beside his leg. "Sorry to put a damper on your plans."

"Hmph, I wouldn't be so smug, because this is far from-AHH!" Divine yelled as, Konami karate chopped him in the back of his neck.

"Really… you need to shut up," he deadpanned, looking at the unconscious man. "I've already wasted more time on your then I thought. It's to claim what's mine… oh and I'm calling Sector Security to arrest your ass, just to let you know."

Reaching for the fallen card lying motionlessley before him, he couldn't help but smile. After three months of searching for his best friend, he couldn't believe it was finally within his reach.

Just the mere thought filled his heart with joy.

"It's good to have you back, Kristye!" Konami smiled, clutching it in his hands.

His eyes widened.

"Kristye? Wh-What the hell?" he scowled, squinting his eyes, reading the card's text. "This is a FAKE!"

The boy's anger was short-lived, because soon after an intoxicating pain shot through him, and he fell to his knees.

"What is this?" he thought, collapsing beside the fallen physic.

**-5D's-**

"Wake up! Up! Up! Up."

Konami eyes snapped opened, staring at the green-haired boy hovering above him.

"L-Leo, is that you?" the boy asked, his vision still a bit blurred, as the person in question titled his head to the side.

"Um, Konami, are you alright? I found you passed out on the floor, and don't get me wrong, I have a lot of strange habits too, but don't you think sleeping on the floor with your door half-opened is a bit dangerous?"

"Half opened…?" the teen asked. "_How did the door get unlocked, and why was I fast asleep in my living room…_"

Memories of last night's confrontation suddenly flooded his mind, reminding him of what had happened not too long ago.

"Oh yeah," he grimaced, struggling to his feet. "_I was in a fight with this universe's Divine… and he totally suckered me. I should have known he wouldn't be stupid enough to bring the real Kristya with him._"

Leo backed up, watching Red Hat falter a few times as tried standing up, and after a few moments of nearly toppling over, he managed to regain his composure.

"K-Konami-" Leo tried, but was cut off.

"You can just call me Red Hat. It feels more natural than my real name!"

"Um, OK!" Leo replied, finding it a bit weird, but was more focused on other things. "Red Hat, what exactly happened here? I mean, you were sleeping on the floor next to a steaming hole, with the door opened."

Konami's eyes darted to the side, wondering if he should tell Leo what happened. Though he would be more obligated not too, because he didn't want to get a child mixed up in the mess.

"I can tell you what happened," an achingly familiar voice exclaimed from the doorway.

Konami face-palmed himself hard, gritting his teeth in utter annoyance as he slowly turned to face his new guest.

From the entrance, Carly stood their huffing, slowly entering the room with a rather wide smile. "Divine broke into his apartment and assaulted him a few hours ago," she explained in total joy. "I can't believe someone who made it his goal to help misguided people could do such a thing. This is going to make an excellent story."

Leo's jaw fell in disbelief. "You mean the leader of the Arcadia Movement did this to my partner? I won't forgive him for this!"

"OK, first off, he's not your partner, he's mine. I saw him first," Carly exclaimed. "I deserve him more than you do. If it weren't for me planting that video-recoding tracking chip on his jacket, and him leaving it dangling on his couch where it caught Divine breaking and entering, there's no way we could prove he did it."

"That's doesn't make any sense," Leo argued back. "Either way, Red Hat promised he'd help me go after the Black Rose Witch and Shadow Emperor of Dragons to further my goal of becoming the future Duel King, and that's exactly what he's going to do!"

Carly scowled at the boy, even though she found it ridiculous that a grown woman was arguing with a child, but she wasn't going to let this brat trample over her career.

"That's what you think. He's going to help me," Carly snapped.

Konami sighed, watching the two bicker nonstop. He didn't have time for this. "Hey, guys, I think I should have a say in this...!"

""NO!""

At this point Konami decided to focus on the time, because if he wanted to get Kristya back, he'd have to uphold his end of the bargain with that mad man, even if he might be stepping into a trap.

Glancing at his wooden clock hanging on the wall, his eyes widened in surprised.

10:45 AM!

"_I only have a few minutes before I'm supposed to be at the Daimon Area,_" Konami thought. "_I don't know what that strange power was I felt last night, but I can't worry about it now. I have to focus on defeating the Black Rose Witch and hopefully get Kristya back in the process,_" he thought.

"He's my partner-AAAHHH!" Carly hissed, getting knocked to floor by the teen rushing towards the door. "Oh, no you don't! Not this time."

_SLAM!_

Carly snarled, holding onto the fallen boy's legs, refusing to let go.

"Hey, let go of my partner!" Leo shouted, pouncing on the women's back. "Take this," he yelled, smacking her glasses off. "And this," he continued, jabbing her in both eyes.

The reporter screeched, falling backwards once again, smashing Leo to the floor in the process, but he used that to his advantage. He placed both his hands over Carly's eyes, blinding her completely.

"What the hell!?" she shouted, stumbling to her feet, despite the extra weight. She twisted and turned her body in midair, trying to shake the kid loose, but to no avail.

"You're never stealing my partner," Leo laughed, "Now, Red Hat, let's g-" His eyes widened.

"Where'd he go-AAHH!" both Leo and Carly shouted, they were karate chopped in the back of the neck, instantly knocking them unconscious.

They both collapsed on the floor, motionless, with their salient beside them. Konami didn't know how long he stood there, gazing at them, but knew he didn't have any time to waste.

"_I'm sorry, but I can't have anyone get involved in any of this,_" he frowned, making his leave.

**-5D's-**

The head of the Arcadia Movement organization, Divine, was in his office finishing up the last of the paper work he was supposed to do before he could go back to sleep in his private quarters.

Divine was a busy man, having to run an organization, find promising young duelist with unique abilities, and making sure everything goes according to plan had gotten so stressful over the years that he had to wake up early in the morning just to finish the work he couldn't finish the other day.

Scribbling word after word on a sheet of paper while making sure it was readable, he placed it on top of a huge stack of papers next to him, then grabbed the last one from his opposite side and started to scribble on it, looking relived to know that he was almost finished.

He scribbled the last few words on the document before dropping his pencil in relief!

Stretching as he stood up from his chair, he looked out of the building windows and gazed upon the beauty of Neo Domino City as the flickering of lights illuminated the sky and couldn't help but wonder why people take this beauty for granted and think that they're protected by their precious Director of Sector Security.

His dreams were so close to being made into a reality because of the incompetence of his misguided followers who're too blinded to realize that they're being lied to, used, and manipulated.

"_Hmph, these fools are just blinded by the truth and can't see clearly,_" Divine thought, his eyes closed. "_However, the Movement will help shed some light to this misguided city for the better._"

The whole concept at hand felt exciting; no, exhilarating! And for Divine, that's really saying something!

Divine smirked, leaning against the back wall with his arms crossed, head hanging down and eyes closed. It was almost too good for him to believe, but it was actually happening! All his years of hard work and determination were finally about to pay off.

He hadn't felt this kind excitement since discovering Akiza that one fateful night, but if his hunch was correct and everything goes according to plan, then this discovery might prove to be even more of a help to him than her! After all, it wasn't every day a man with dreams as big as his were so close to first step of completion.

He rubbed the back of his neck, remembering the blow Red Hat dealt him several hours ago.

"_Still, this boy won't be easy to control. He's obviously strong-willed._" A wicked smirk crossed his face. "_Though, I always found breaking wills to be quiet enjoyable._"

He turned, exiting his office and walking through the hallway with every attention of getting a well-deserved nap.

All of a sudden, his cell phone rang and Divine reached into his pocket to grab it. The number was familiar to him, being called so many times in the past three years by the same person. He pushed the red button.

"Akiza is there something you wanted to tell me?" he asked warmly, as always when talking to the crowned Jewel of Arcadia.

There was an awkward silence on the other end of the line for a while. "Yes! It's about "Red Hat" Konami. Apparently he's decided to take you up on the offer you made him last night. I can sense his presence nearing me."

Divine smirked. "That's great, and I hope you understand that I'm only doing this for the real Konami's well-being. This person, whoever he is, is not Konami Kudo, because I sensed a great darkness within him that the real "Yellow Hat" never had."

"I understand that much, but wouldn't it be all the more reason for me to just take him out?" Akiza asked. "I don't care about this kid's reputation, but I do care if this imposter poses a problem for Arcadia in the near future. I would be more than enough to face him myself and teach him the true meaning of fear."

"I appreciate your willing to protect what's right, but I need to get a few answers out of him, so I don't recommend him getting injured too badly." Divine replied, walking over to his desk and pressing a blue button on the far edge, causing the room to turn pitch black, before becoming illuminated in holographic screens, all showing the Daimon Area. "_And to make sure our guest play by my rules, I'll be keeping a close eye on the lot of you._"

Divine smirked, hanging up his phone! Red Hat… he may not know who he was, but he did know one thing…

No matter how much he scrummed or ran, he would never be able to escape Arcadia's or Duel Sanctuary's wrath. No matter who or what he had to sacrifice.

**-5D's-**

"Well, looks like I made it on time." Red Hat sighed in relief, looking as he ran through a narrow alleyway in Southern District.

"**You know this some sort of trap,**** right?**" Eatos mussed, floating beside Konami.

Konami sighed, "Um, yeah, that's pretty obvious. I figured that out a little while ago!"

She slapped her forehead, "**Then why are you knowingly walking into it?**"

"Because if I defeat this Black Rose Witch, I might be able to get Kristya back if Divine stays true to his word," Konami replied, causing his Duel Spirits to groan. "I know, I know, I know. This universe's Divine is probably no different from ours, but the fact that he somehow figured out I'm looking for Kristya must mean he knows something, and it wouldn't be a good idea to just ignore that he knows I'm not "Yellow Hat". That makes his actions even more suspicious How'd he figure that out?"

"**I'm a bit confused,**" Wynn said, rubbing her chin, pondering the matter. "**The Divine we first knew in our universe was only eighteen, and this universe's year is set in the same time as ours with the only difference being its events and occurrences are sixteen years ahead of ours, so how is it possible that this universe's Divine is a grown man?**"

"My poor naïve Wynn, that's easy. It's because…" Konami explained, until stopping, realizing he didn't know the answer to that either. "Um, Eatos…I need some of that wisdom you're always babbling about."

Wynn burst into a frenzy of laughter at how clueless her master was. Even though he wasn't her type, she still thought of him quiet cute when trying to think carefully for once.

"**Master, you're such an idiot****!**"Eatos sighed. "**I would explain it, but my mere explanation would take too long, and the two wouldn't be able to comprehend it anyway, so instead of worrying about such useless matters, maybe you should worry about the situations at hand.**"

"Man, Eatos, when did you get this moody?" Konami smirked. Eatos eye twitched at boy's comment. "I'm already prepared." He flashed his Duel Disk at her. "I'm even using my real Deck this time unlike I did with Leo. You See?"

"**I wasn't only talking about the duel. Since Divine's involved, you know there's more to this then he's letting-**" Eatos tried, but was stopped as a shiver went down her spine. Her eyes narrowed, glancing around the area. "**Master****…**"

Konami smirked, with apparent indication he already knew, but didn't have enough time to reply. Once he was out of the alley and in the Diamon Area, a large explosion sounded for alarm.

"**Whoever this Black Rose Witch is, she certainly doesn't know how to treat her cards with respect!**" Rosari scowled, watching the scene unfold. "**Using a creature as beautiful as the Black Rose Dragon as an instrument of destruction. This woman deserves do mercy.**"

"Black Rose Dragon?" Konami asked. "Is that Duel Monsters Card?"

"**You will find out soon, but there's no use in just standing around talking,**" Rosari snapped. "**Teach** **this witch a lesson, and get Kristya back already, or she'll destroy us all****.**"

A few seconds later, black tendrils and petals erupted from the ground, destroying everything in their path, flinging debris into the air, and tearing apart the ground.

Moving to the side, he avoided the falling debris flung at him, then gracefully jumped into the air, dodging the black tendrils attacking randomly. He couldn't help but smile as he heard an earth-shaking screech from above.

Without saying anything, Konami simply walked into the midst of all the chaos, paying no mind to the destruction behind him.

It was at that point, a vortex of roses shot down from the sky, creating a huge shockwave that almost tore apart the ground, releasing a beam of light, soon revealing the creator of this carnage. A dark cloak was shrouded across her body, with a blank white mask concealing her face along with a hood.

Konami didn't even flinch as he gazed upon the figure with his piercing crimson eyes. After everything he went through in Duel Academy, it would take a lot more than some light show to scare him.

"You're the infamous Black Rose Witch, aren't you?" he asked, not expecting to get a particular answer from her. "Let's cut to the chase, I know that psycho Divine set you up to this, but I want to know if he will keep to his end of the bargain."

She stepped back, activating her Duel Disk. "Don't talk! I don't want to waste my breath on someone like you. I'll tell you only what's going to become of your precious Kristya only after I destroy your Deck and rid you from this world."

Red Hat scowled, shuffling his deck and sliding it back into his holster then held his arm up as he active his Duel Disk. "You can bark as much as your want, but it won't faze me."

The two glared at one another with obvious contempt in their eyes until...

**DUEL**

**KONAMI VS BLACK ROSE WITCH**

**KONAMI – 8000 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 8000 LP**

**TURN ONE – BLACK ROSE WITCH**

"I'll teach you the true meaning of pain here and now, just watch!" the witch said coldly, adding a card to her hand of five. "I place a monster in Defense Mode and that will do for now!"

"Hmm, that's all? That was a bit anti-climactic," Konami said. "I was expecting something a bit more interesting, but I guess it doesn't matter either way."

"Enough of all your talk, and just make your move!" she hissed.

He smiled. "If you insist, but don't say I didn't warn you!" Konami replied, moving to draw a card. "Watch out, because it's my Turn! Draw!"

**TURN TWO – KONAMI**

"To start things off, I think I'll summon my Blizzard Dragon in Attack Mode!"

A blizzard emerged, engulfing the Field in its coldness as the blue Dragon appeared amongst it, gazing at the witch with its piercing red eyes.

Blizzard Dragon - (WATER/Dragon) - LV4- (1800/1000)

"Now, that that's out-of-the-way," Konami begun, "put Akiza's Face-Down monster on ice."

The Dragon hissed, opening its mouth as a beam of blue coldness erupted from its throat, freezing everything in its path. The witch only stared on, watching as her Face-Down monster was overtaken by the attack, flipping over, revealing just what type of monster it was.

"How reckless," the witch hissed. "I expected you to execute your first move with more consideration, but if that's all you got, then you have no talent. My Face-Down you foolishly attacked was my Hedge Guard and with its incredible Defensive power, your attack is doomed to fail."

Hedge Guard - (EARTH/Plant) - LV3 - (0/2100)

"That's not good," Konami rasped out, watching the beam slam of the hedge only to get redirected at his Dragon, but had little effect on it, which was more that could be said for him as fragments of ice pelted him, draining his Life Points in the process

**KONAMI – 7700 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 8000 LP**

Konami quickly recovered, looking back at his hand. He realized he couldn't deal any damage with the cards he had, so he needed to play it safe.

"I place one card Face-Down and end my Turn!"

Then it's back to me! Draw!" the witch shouted.

**TURN THREE – BLACK ROSE WITCH**

Glancing at her, and even though it couldn't be seen behind her mask, her lips were curled in a faint smile. "I summon my Twilight Rose Knight to the Field in Attack Mode!"

The silver-haired warrior clad in black appeared on the Field beside Hedge Guard, thrusting his sword upwards.

Twilight Rose Knight - (Dark/Warrior) - LV3 - (1000/1000)

"Attack Mode?" Konami asked, eyes narrowed. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Well, that's only natural," the witch scowled, "because by activating his effect, you'll wish you never accepted this challenge! Since Twilight Rose Knight was Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level Four of lower Plant-Type monster from my Hand. So come fourth, my Level Four Lord Poison!"

The wooden monster hissed, flashing its claws as it appeared on the Field beside the Knight who had called upon him.

Lord Poison - (WATER/Plant) - LV4 - (1500/1000)

"That's really creepy," Konami frowned.

"Hmph, don't worry, because it won't be staying for long," the black rose announced, thrusting her arm out from her cloak. "Because I tune my Level three Twilight Rose Knight with my level four Lord Poison," she grinned, psychotically as her two monsters transformed into several stars, soon merging together in a flash of light.

Konami's eyes widened as a strange force began to overcome him. He didn't know why, but he could feel his body getting heavier from the summoning… it was like he could feel the creature inside suffering.

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world! Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! I Synchro Summon Black Rose Dragon!"

With a blood-curtailing screech, the pillar exploded, revealing the creature within.

Black Rose Dragon - (FIRE/Dragon) - LV7 - (2400/1800)

"You can feel, can't you? You can think of this as my gift to you… my pain and suffering lives within this Dragon," the witch hissed. "What I've been forced to go through for so many years is now invoking you!"

"?" Konami's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, he felt his body weigh him down.

"Hehehe, or a present Divine gave you last night!" the witch sneered. "Divne truly is a genius. He prepared for everything. The moment I summoned my Dragon is when your power belonged to Arcadia, all I have to do is attack." Her gaze shifted back to Konami. "Now I activate Black Rose Dragon's Special Ability! When its Special Summoned, everything on the Field is set to flames!" Akiza announced. "Now destroy everything, Black Rose Gale!"

Konami didn't have enough time to figure out what was going on until it was too late. The horrid creature screeched, flapping its rosy wings, conjuring a gale of rose petals before they consumed everything in their path, including itself. In mere moments, the Field exploded, destroying every card on the Field while engulfing one unfortunate duelist in its wake.

The witch watched the scene in enjoyment as debris was sent flying in every which way, along with Konami plummeting to Earth. She didn't say anything as her opponent fell to the concrete ground, barely showing signs of life instead of blood he just coughed up.

"Get up!" the witch demanded, taking a few steps closer to her fallen opponent. "I know the attack wasn't nearly enough to finish you off, and besides, I'm not done with you yet. I was supposed to capture you after luring you into this trap, but I decided to stretch this out and play with you a little longer."

Konami didn't respond. The only thing he could feel was the incredible pain coursing through him.

"Fine then, but don't forget, it's still my Turn!" the witch reminded him, pulling a card from her hand. "To make sure you don't try anything, I think I'll use Monster Reborn! Now time to show why your power isn't anything compared to mine! I revive my Black Rose Dragon!"

A gust of wind petals swept across the destroyed Field, pushing Konami's seemingly unconscious body a few feet away, as the revived Black Rose returned with a screech more sinister than the last.

Black Rose Dragon - (FIRE/Dragon) - LV7 - (2400/1800)

"Now, it's obvious you're not going to show me whatever power you have so I'll just have to force it out of you! Black Rose Dragon attack him directly, Black Rose Flare!"

Red Hat didn't move, not making an attempt to escape, as the dragon opened its mouths wide and released a green beam of destructive force, destroying what was left of the ground. Konami slowly raised his head, watching as the light overtook him, sending flying of the ground once again.

**KONAMI – 5300 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 8000 LP**

"I end my Turn with a Face-Down card!"

Konami just laid there on the ground, motionless, his clothes soaked in his own blood.

His eyes showed no pain, only excitement as darkness began consuming him. He saw a purple light shortly before a pulse of darkness erupted from his body, consuming everything around him.

"H-how is this possible? Th-this power was supposed to have been sealed the night I almost died. Why is this happening?" His eyes widened, remembering what had happened last night. "DIVINE!"

Continuing to feed off the negative forces with content as his strength steadily grew…this one something that had been sealed inside him for so many years. It was power… Power… **POWER!**

Glowing red-eyes pierced the wall of shadows for an instant.

Slowly standing up, he slowly made his way out the mist shrouding him, revealing his once brown hair had turned black and his skin had turned a light shade of purple.

"I'm going to kill you!" Konami roared, his mere voice creating a tremendous shockwave.

Konami's face bristled angry as he gazed upon the women. "You… you did this to me!" he said, smiling, tears rolling down his face. "In all my years that I've been alive I don't think I ever been this angry. HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH! HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH," he laughed. "No, maybe this is all my fault. In all this time I've been alive, I tried to run from my past, but look where it's gotten me now! Hehehe!"

The witch stepped back, clutching her trembling hand as she gazed upon the… monster before her. Mere words couldn't describe how she was feeling, but even from this distance, it felt like this thing's aura was going to crush her.

"No, no, no what am I saying? You made me like this!" Konami concluded, taking a few steps pointing his nail like claws at the accused. "And to what purpose? To serve some manipulative bastard who doesn't care for you? HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH!" he laughed, flashing the girl his fang filled smile. "This isn't over! This duel is still going on." He grinned, reaching for his Deck, "One more thing though; if you don't come at me seriously… then you'll die! Hah, hah! Now, ready or not, here I come!"

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

**END**

* * *

**With Konami's duel with the Black Rose Witch coming to an unexpected turn, he now finds himself captive of his forbidden power. Will Red Hat be able to pull things together long enough to make it out of this Duel alive and with his sanity, or will he continue to play into the clutches of Divine? Find out next time, on Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy!**


	5. 4) Chaos

"I end my Turn with a Face-Down card!"

Konami just laid there on the ground, motionless, his clothes soaked in his own blood.

His eyes showed no pain, only excitement as darkness began consuming him. He saw a purple light shortly before a pulse of darkness erupted from his body, consuming everything around him.

"H-how is this possible? Th-this power was supposed to have been sealed the night I almost died. Why is this happening?" His eyes widened, remembering what had happened last night. "DIVINE!"

Continuing to feed off the negative forces with content as his strength steadily grew…this one something that had been sealed inside him for so many years. It was power… Power… **POWER!**

Glowing red-eyes pierced the wall of shadows for an instant.

Slowly standing up, he slowly made his way out the mist shrouding him, revealing his once brown hair had turned black and his skin had turned a light shade of purple.

"I'm going to kill you!" Konami roared, his mere voice creating a tremendous shockwave.

Konami's face bristled angry as he gazed upon the women. "You… you did this to me!" he said, smiling, tears rolling down his face. "In all my years that I've been alive I don't think I ever been this angry. HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH! HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH," he laughed. "No, maybe this is all my fault. In all this time I've been alive, I tried to run from my past, but look where it's gotten me now! Hehehe!"

The witch stepped back, clutching her trembling hand as she gazed upon the… monster before her. Mere words couldn't describe how she was feeling, but even from this distance, it felt like this thing's aura was going to crush her.

"No, no, no what am I saying? You made me like this!" Konami concluded, taking a few steps pointing his nail like claws at the accused. "And to what purpose? To serve some manipulative bastard who doesn't care for you? HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH!" he laughed, flashing the girl his fang filled smile. "This isn't over! This duel is still going on." He grinned, reaching for his Deck, "One more thing though; if you don't come at me seriously… then you'll die! Hah, hah! Now, ready or not, here I come!"

* * *

**Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

**Chaos**

* * *

"Time to end this," Konami shouted. "Because it's my Turn! Draw!"

**TURN FOUR - KONAMI**

"Hahahaha, I'm about to show you what I'm capable of," He continued. "I summon Masked Dragon in Attack Mode!"

He thrusted the card into his Monster Zone watching the tan-scaled dragon appears before him released a mighty roar.

Masked Dragon - (FIRE/Dragon) - LV4 - (1400/1100)

"This is going to be fun. Heh hah, hah, hah!" Konami chuckled, swing his arms lazily. He lifted his head up, giving the masked women before him a menacing gaze. "Now, attack her Black Rose Dragon! Be the orchestra of her demise."

Not that anyone could see it, but the witch's eyes widen in surprise, watching as the Dragon flew towards her mighty creature despite, the obvious difference in power.

"What do you think you're doing?" The witch hissed, "That power must have gone to your head. The only ones who's going to get sent to their demise is that dragon."

He chuckled evilly. "Who cares, all I care about is killing you and I'll sacrifice anyone to achieve that goal. HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH!"

The witch glared at the boy, watching her Black Dragon released a wave of purple energy from its mouth blowing the Dragon to smithereens.

The witch scowled, watching the doomed creature get blown to smithereens by the powerful wave of purple energy released by her Black Rose Dragon. Konami only laughed, as he skidded back from the force fromthe explosion.

**KONAMI – 4300 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 8000 LP**

"How foolish!" The witch frowned, arms crossed.

"Hahah, really," Red Hat laughed. "I'm sorry little girl you will the foolish one here. When Masked Dragon is destroyed in battle, I can Special summon another Dragon monster with fifteen-hundred Attack Points or less. So like I said before my Dragon with serve as the orchestra of your demise and your punishment has just begun! Arise, Delta Flyer."

In a brisk gale of wind, appeared a miniature green dragon.

Delta Flyer - (WIND/Dragon) - LV3 - (1500/900)

"A tuner monster," The witch hissed, "I know where this is going!"

"That's right, but I'm not stopping there because, my Masked Dragon still has some value to me." Konami declared, grabbing a card from his hand. "Hehehe, since it was destroyed in battle, I can summon yet another monster from my hand… a monster of pure darkness!"

A familiar dark haze erupted from Konami's body, the Field getting shrouded in shadows with the only thing that could be seen was his piercing red eyes, but it was at that point his newly summoned monster appeared before him, releasing a mighty roar the same as all his other creatures.

InterplanetaryPurplythorny Dragon - (DARK/Dragon) - LV5 - (2200/1100)

The witch staggered back, her eyes widening in realization, and though Konami couldn't see her face he knew there's fear hidden deep within her heart.

"I see you finally caught on, but sorry it's already too late for you!" Konami proclaimed, "Now watch closely, this will be the last monster you will ever see." He roared, releasing yet another mighty shockwave.

"I tune my Level Three Delta Flyer with my Level Five InterplanetaryPurplythorny Dragon!"

Konami continued, with Delta flyer dispersing into several green rings, as he spoke, surrounding the dragon, as his body began glowing before transforming into five glowing stars, "TIME TO SHOW YOU WHAT TRUE DESPAIR LOOKS LIKE. JUST WATCH, JUST WATCH."

"Ugh!" The witch hissed, trying to stay on her feet, but the forcer was too great and she was sent flying backwards.

"When the worlds enveloped in a sea of shadows the overload of darkness will appear plunging humanity into further chaos, destroying anything who dare opposes his wrath." He chanted, "Come fourth! I Synchro Summon, Dark End Dragon!

Konami's grin widen as a thick black fog poured on to the Field, before overshadowed by an unfamiliar pillar of dark light. Within moments a black dragon with a fanged mouth, a boney tail and wings appeared, glaring down at the world before it. It didn't do anything except soar down to the Field below. He turned his deadly glare at the Black Rose Dragon who returned it with equal hatred.

Dark End Dragon - (DARK/Dragon) - LV8 - (2600/2100)

"Behold the creature that's been festering within my heart for so long!" Konami screamed, cocking his head back, as he laughed like a madman. Staring at the new Monster, the Witch took a step back grabbing her trembling hand, but managed to keep her cool somehow. "So this is the creature whose embodies your power. I was expecting something a bit powerful!"

Konami's grin widen, a hand placed on his forehead trying to control himself as darkness began seeping from his body. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart. This is the beginning of the end for you! HAH, HAH, HAH, my Dragon has an ability that would make your trip to the underworld all the more enjoyable for me… but ending this so quickly wouldn't be any fun for me. HAH, HAH, so I think I'll toy with you for a while.

The witch's eyes went wide, taking a step back as a powerful gale formed on the field, getting sucked into Dark End Dragon's second mouth creating a great sphere of black aura in between the fangs.

"Now disappearing into darkness, Underworld Surge," Konami roared, his mighty beast releasing a great beam at the rosy dragon destroying the ground in between them. It shrieked in pain, getting engulfed in the ray of destruction. "Say goodbye to your precious dragon!"

**KONAMI – 4300 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 7800 LP**

"My Black Rose Dragon!" The witch cried out, half her masked cracked off revealing her eyes that flashing what seemed to be fear. "Y-Y-You, how-how dare you do that this to my dragon, I'll make sure you willl pay for this!"

"Really?" Konami asked with a sneer. "Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm… hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah. You're going to make me pay. Ha, drop the tough guy act! After I'm done with you I'm going to take great pleasure reaching into your corps and pulling out EVERYTHING and, nobody would care because, nobody in this world cares for you! Isn't that right."

"!?" The witch scowled.

Still laughing, Konami pointed forward. "I can tell your history from just looking into those eyes of yours! For the better part of your life you hid behind that mask in an attempt to hide your face from the world, why… because you're just brat who decided to shun herself from society because, no one cared for you and no one wanted you. Isn't that the truth my dear?"

"Shut up…"

He laughed even more.

"I don't blame them either. Would anyone want some brat with anger issues anywhere near them?" Konami grin mercifully, "I bet your own parents didn't even want you? Oh, and guess what, neither does Divine!"

"Shut up…"

"He's just using you." He continued, "Your powers are probably the only reason why he's interested inyou? I can only imagine when the last time was when your experience true happiness."

"SHUT UP!"

Konami smirked, "I'm sorry did I strike a never?" he mocked, "but still I'm curious. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to drown in darkness…? Akiza! Well, let's find out shall we?"

Akiza scowled, "Wh-What?"

Dark End Dragon fired a stream of darkness at the defenseless Witch known as Akiza, quickly transforming in a rushing wave of darkness. The water shadows consumed her.

As the water continued to consume her, Konami couldn't help,but frown this time.

"It's a shame really." He sighed, turning away from the scene, "I was expecting you to show me a good time, but this all you got. The amount of pain your suffering can't even compare to mine. Mental, emotional and physical; they are far succeed yours."

Whatever answer Akiza wanted to give was blocked out by her obsessive gagging getting push to a brick wall with the force from the waves against her body.

"It's a shame, but you must die!"

"Don't underestimate… ME!" Akiza yelled at the top of her lungs, catching Konami of guard.

The water slamming into her was blown away from the intensity of her powers. The young women coughed, a few time before staggering to her feet and glaring at the boy as the aura surrounding him gladly increased from anger.

"The only one who's going to die… is you Red Hat!"

He couldn't help, but laugh. "So you still intend of facing me with your level of power? You're just a scared child who can't comprehend the situation you're in. How sad! Out of all the people I killed over the years you might be the most pathetic one of them all!"

"I'm… I'm n-not g-oing to DIE!" Akiza screamed, her power continuing to increase. "I will not disappear, I will not lose… NOT TO THE LIKES OF YOU! I DON'T CARE WHAT I HAVE TO BUT, YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO'S GOING TO DIE."

"Am I supposed to be intimidated?" He asked, reaching for his hand. "Hmph, I end my turn with a Face-Down. You're up!"

She didn't waste any time making her move.

"DRAW…" Akiza roared.

**TURN FIVE – BLACK ROSE WITCH**

Without even thinking she activated her hidden Face-Down Card, "Time to teach you not to mess with me. I activate Seed of Deception. Now I get to summon a level two or below plant type monster from my hand. So come forth, Evil Thorn.

A huge vine plant, with what seemed to be a watermelon shaped fruit with thorns residing on one side with a pink flower on the other sprouted before her.

Evil Thorn – (DARK/Plant) – LV1 – (100/300)

"But don't think for one second I'm stopping there!" Akiza continued, "Because, by activating its effect you will take three-hundred points of direct damage!"

All of a sudden the plant exploded, thorns scattering widely across the field all bludgeoning Konami who merely smiled as his Life Points dropped ever so slightly. The pain was anything he had to worry about.

**KONAMI – 4000 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 7800 LP**

"Is that all you got?" Konami mocked.

Akiza scowled, "Not at all because, now I special summon two additional Evil Thorns from my Deck." She replied, grabbing two cards from her Deck's content. "Lucky for you their abilities can't be activated."

It was at that moment two Evil Thorns sprouted to the Field, but not being much of a threat in the state they've been reduced to because of their predecessor. Though, Akiza only stared on with a wicked smile as they emerged.

Evil Thorn – (DARK/Plant) – LV1 – (100/300)

Evil Thorn – (DARK/Plant) – LV1 – (100/300)

"Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events." Konami smirked, obviously not afraid, "But it doesn't matter what you do because, either way you're going to die! So make you last few moments pleasurable and more fun for me."

"Rrgh!" Akiza scowled, taking a step forward. "That's enough! I'm through listening to your homicidal rants. I don't care who or what you, but know one gets away in talking to me or Divine like that! You know, I wasn't planning or resorting to such tactics, but you've infuriated me and so you've left me no other choice. Just remember you brought this on yourself!"

"You're sure are amusing!" Konami said, nonchalantly despite, his obvious impulse on killing. "Let's make my next turn the final clash and we'll see who disappears!"

"Hmph, fine by me, the beginning the end starts now, so prepare yourself!" Akiza snapped, "Since there no limit on how many times I can special summon, I think I'll sacrifice my two Evil Thorns to bring out a monster of your demise."

As Akiza slapped the newly summoned monster on her Duel Disk, the two plants disappeared in beam of blinding light that soon engulfed the Field, Konami hissed shielding his eyes from the luminous rays. It didn't take him long enough to figure out a creature of light was about to appear before him.

"Light…!" He shouted, taking a few steps back. "I CAN'T STAND THE LIGHT!"

A sphere of light emerged before them, emanating a powerful presence from within. It slowly began shattering rays of light appearing from the cracks slowly revealing the divine creature from within. Its twin feathered wings spread out across the Field slowly descending the ground. It glanced at Konami with a look of somewhat happiness.

Archlord Kristya (LIGHT/Fairy) – LV8 – (2800/2300)

"**Master, it's been a long time.**" Kristya smirked, before his eyes widening immediately from his appearance along with creature before him. "**I see so the seal has been broken and darkness has corrupted your heart once again!**"

"_Yeah, and who cares?_" Konami shot back, "_I don't have to explain myself to you, because as soon as I'm done with you'll going to disappear along with the witch!_"

Kristya frowned, "**Master, please I beg you to reconsider your actions. There was a reason why had this powered sealed within in. Because it corrupted you, you can't go back to the cruel monster your once were!**"

"_Shut up._" Konami replied, already getting agitated by his former spirit partner's advice. "_You may have been my oldest companion, but that doesn't you mean you know anything about what I've been forced to go through. The power that's remained dormant within me for so long is finally set free, and power is the only thing I ever wanted even before I was corrupted. In this world power is the only thing that mattered in this world! My only purpose in life is to grow stronger and if I have to sacrifice a thousand people to get it then so be it. It's all the more fun for me._"

"**Master…**" All his spirits said obviously worried.

"Enough…" he roared his gazed fixated on Akiza, "Now finish your move. I need something to arouse me."

She scowled deeply at the boy just about having enough of him.

"Arouse you?" Akiza hissed, her aura continuing to grow. "I had enough of you. Kristya take down his Dark End Dragon and whip away that shroud of darkness surround your former master. Go! Divine Scepter!"

"_**To rid my master body of this dark influence I'll first have to destroy that dragon!**_" Kristya thought, "**Forgive me master Konami**."

Flapping his wings as he flew towards the creature of darkness forming a glowing scepter in his palms and with a mighty trust he pierced the armor surrounding its throat. The mighty beast released a roar of agony feeling its life force fade from existence.

The cried out in pain, fall to his knees, feeling similar pain shoot through his body.

"I-I activate my Face-Down; Astral Barrier!" Konami rasped out, revealing his hidden card. "HAH, HAH, sorry, but now your feeble attacks will be direct at me!"

Kristya's, Akiza's and Dark End Dragon eyes both widen in disbelief glancing at the boy, as portal formed in between the two monsters causing the attacking fairy to slip through it and reappear in front of Konami taking the full brunt of the attack.

"Guuah!" He grimaced, clenching his throat trying to restrain from coughing up blood.

**KONAMI – 1200 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 7800 LP**

Shacking off the pain, the boy slowly walked beside his sole monster, "Sorry, but you will going to have to do a lot better than that to take me down!"

Akiza frowned. "You really are a fool! Taking all that damage to protect a worthless creature… hmph, whatever, since you're desperate to protect that card I'll just have to destroy you. I activate the spell, Ookazi. So now I can burn away eight-hundred additional points. Think of this as the flames of hell!"

"Grr…" Konami grimaced, as the flames engulfed him, but quickly began laughing like a mad man once more despite, hacking up large portions of blood as he did so. "Pain… it's been such a long time since I felt it. There's no greater the pleasure then this. Even though it was just a little bit of damage I'll be sure to return to favor ten-fold, hah."

**KONAMI – 400 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 7800 LP**

"I don't think you should be so cocky. After I win your that power will belong to Arcadia," Akiza stated, "So enough of your babbling. I end my turn."

"Back to me then, draw!"

**TURN SIX – KONAMI**

"I'm simply just trying to warn you about the danger you will be facing soon," Konami said. "So do me a favor and just sit back and watch. My pain is far greater than yours, and I'll show you its true form of it! It's that reason why you will lose! I activate an old, but yet new addition to my deck."

He shot his hand to the heavens, an even thicker aura surrounding him as he played the Spell he thought disappeared so many years ago.

"It's a beauty I like to call; Flesh and Blood!"

"Flesh and Blood?" Akiza asked, having heard of that name. "Is that even an official card?"

"Who cares, as far as the public knows this doesn't even exist." Konami smirked wickedly. "This card was created from the depths of my hatred. Flesh and Blood is a Spell that can only be activated by negating the ability of all cards on my Field. You see it's a gutsy move, but with its power I'm practically a god! Now, Flesh and Blood effect activates! During the Turn I activate this card, I chose up to five monsters and use them with a monster of my choice, then the select monster gains half their combined Attack Points."

"Please," Akiza snapped, "Now cards powerful enough to make a move like that, there must be another catch to it."

"A catch?" Konami chuckled, "Well, there is another one. For everyone monster I equip to Dark End Dragon I have to give up twenty percent of my Life Points! Though, since I'm choosing five all my life points are reduced to zero!"

**KONAMI – 0 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 7800 LP**

Akiza's eye shot wide open "Huh…? Wait that means I win?"

"Actually you don't!" Konami murmured, "You see I'll only lose if I can't reduce your Life Points to Zero before this turns end phase so like I said just sit back and watch, brat. So, now I get chose which monsters become my Dark End Dragons flesh and blood." He grinned. "The cards of my choice, are Guardian Eatos, Wynn the Wind Charmer, Rosaria, the Fallen Stately Angel, Silent Knight Level 4 and finally… Archlord Kristya."

"Wh-What?" The now cowering women rasped out, as Kristya looked at the boy in disbelief.

Konami smirked, giving them both a cold calculating gaze.

"Oh, didn't I tell you I can also choose a monster on your side of the Field." He continued, "That's the perks of being god I suppose."

"This can't be…!" Kristya exclaimed wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry all five of you have served me well, but your usefulness has passed." The boy said, "I guess I should thank you because, since you foolishly decided to come this universe with your master I was able to gain control his body once again… well looks like the first part of my plan was a success!"

"Plan?" Everyone shouted.

"Well I suppose there no point in hiding it now. It's already too late to stop me." Konami grinned, "When Red Hat was in a brief moment of despair after Kristya had sacrificed itself to protect him from Nightshround I was able to take control of his body. Even if it's for only an instant I had enough time to transport Kristya to this universe before he was killed, but that's all you will be getting from me. Now, Flesh and Blood take effect."

The boy slowly raised his hands to the sky, the fours ball of light forcefully removed from his deck and plunging into Dark End Dragon's skin.

"It's a shame really because, you came all this way to protect your master from danger, but never realized that danger was lurking deep within him!" Konami laughed, finding the concept amusing. "I'm surprised the four of you didn't notice my influence taking effect on your and, you call yourself friends when couldn't even tell how differently you started acting once Kristya was gone. HAH."

"**Konamiii**," Wynn wailed.

"**How could this happen again?**" Silent Knight whispered.

"**Konami, stop it!**" Rosaria shouted.

"**Master...I'll never forget you!**" Eatos cried, feeling her body evaporate. "**Overcome this evil. Don't go down the same path Rafael almost did **"

Kristya could only watch as his four greatest friends fazed into the creature's skin completely. He didn't have a chance to mourn, as he, too, was being pulled towards his doom.

As he took a final glimpse of Konami before he, too, faded within the monster, all one could note was a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"**Be safe...Konami**..."

A pillar of white, green and brown light erupted from where the Dragon stood, but soon shattered, revealing the newly misshapen creature in its wake.

Dark End Dragon - (DARK/Dragon) - LV8 - (7900/2100)

"Impossible… but that means…" Akiza exhaled, her voice quaking.

"Just spit it out! You lose!" Konami exclaimed. "But because of your bravery, I've decided not to kill you. I will let you live...but only barely! Now go. Dark End Dragon, finish this duel with one final strike! Underworld Surge!"

The creature nodded obediently, releasing a great beam of darkness more than ten times as powerful than the one it released earlier in the duel. The light enveloped the entire western district, causing a massive explosion of shadows.

Akiza had lost.

**KONAMI – 0 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 0 LP**

**WINNER: KONAMI**

She screamed as she was blinded by the intense sphere of light which suddenly formed within the ray of darkness. The last thing she could see before blacking out was Divine standing before her.

"D-Divine."

"Well done, Akiza. You can rest for now. I need to discuss some important matters with the new and improved Konami and an...associate of mine."

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

**END**

* * *

**The curtain falls on Konami's duel with Akiza with him coming out victorious, but with him being possessed by an evil force long since been sealed away none of that really matters at the time. Just who or what is this monster now lose in the city and what has he got planned now that he's free? Find out on the climax of, Tag Force 4: Dark Conspiracy **


	6. 5) Creation

Guest: I'm not going to create a Leo Fanfic _**EVER**_. If you want to create a Leo Fanfic then do one yourself because I'm not doing one. I'll create stories that I want to create. So again stop sending me anonymous reviews about the same old thing. You sound like a broken tape recorder.

* * *

"**Konamiii**," Wynn wailed.

"**How could this happen again?**" Silent Knight whispered.

"**Konami, stop it!**" Rosaria shouted.

"**Master...I'll never forget you!**" Eatos cried, feeling her body evaporate. "**Overcome this evil. Don't go down the same path Rafael almost did **"

Kristya could only watch as his four greatest friends fazed into the creature's skin completely. He didn't have a chance to mourn, as he, too, was being pulled towards his doom.

As he took a final glimpse of Konami before he, too, faded within the monster, all one could note was a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"**Be safe...Konami**..."

A pillar of white, green and brown light erupted from where the Dragon stood, but soon shattered, revealing the newly misshapen creature in its wake.

Dark End Dragon - (DARK/Dragon) - LV8 - (7900/2100)

"Impossible… but that means…" Akiza exhaled, her voice quaking.

"Just spit it out! You lose!" Konami exclaimed. "But because of your bravery, I've decided not to kill you. I will let you live...but only barely! Now go. Dark End Dragon, finish this duel with one final strike! Underworld Surge!"

The creature nodded obediently, releasing a great beam of darkness more than ten times as powerful than the one it released earlier in the duel. The light enveloped the entire western district, causing a massive explosion of shadows.

Akiza had lost.

**KONAMI – 0 LP**

**BLACK ROSE WITCH – 0 LP**

**WINNER: KONAMI**

She screamed as she was blinded by the intense sphere of light which suddenly formed within the ray of darkness. The last thing she could see before blacking out was Divine standing before her.

"D-Divine."

"Well done, Akiza. You can rest for now. I need to discuss some important matters with the new and improved Konami and an...associate of mine."

* * *

**Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

* * *

**Creation**

* * *

Divine stood quietly in the destroyed district a few feet behind the man still emanating an incredible aura. He had the obvious intent to kill smothered within it.

He sighed.

"How is Akiza doing?" Konami finally spoke.

"From what I can tell, you did quite a number on her," Divine replied, turning to the unconscious figure lying peacefully on the ground. "There's no telling how she'll end up, but you certainly did keep to your earlier promise on keeping her alive."

"Humph, I got a bit carried away. This is the first time I've been sent free for ages," the boy said, chuckling lightly. "But this talk is tedious. It doesn't matter if she's lives or dies. I still don't understand why I decided to spare her. But despite this...Finally, the plans I have calculated for over ten years have finally come to fruition."

"Yes, and it's hard to believe every aspect of your plan worked." Divine said, "It's not that I'm surprised, but, still, who could have imagined that there was another Konami existing in another universe who possessed such a wide reserve of power?"

"That doesn't matter," Konami replied. "All that does matter is that I have full control of this boy's body. Now the final phase of my plan can be put into motion after all these years of waiting. "

Divine nodded. "Yes, you explained it all quite clearly to me three months ago." He smirked. "To think you've been sealed within that child for so long, and still were able to manipulate him without difficulty to this extent. I'm must say, I'm truly impressed!"

"Save your compliments for someone who cares, Divine," Konami replied coldly. "Now that I've taken control of Konami's body, I'll be able to change the course of history in both his universe...and this one."

"But how we are going to pull that off is the real question. I've followed every order you've given me ever since Kristya had been transported to me, but I still don't know the answer to that particular sentiment," he reminded once again.

What once was Konami smirked, turning to face the physic.

"You'll find out soon enough, but, for now, let's pay our associate and Red Hat a visit. I think we've kept them waiting long enough. And, by the way… I believe you're rather confused. Konami is not my true name. I might have shared a body with that fool, but we share no name. Refer to me as Erebus."

**-5D's-**

A glowing, purple-rimmed portal appeared within an unknown void of darkness, and it was Konami who stepped out from it just before it disappeared in a haze. What he could conclude, from a mere glance, was that the world before him was no different from the one he had left.

But, none of that mattered, or at least, not at the time.

Konami's focus was more on the large circular platform he stood on.

He didn't know why, but he could sense that it held a vast amount of power.

The surrounding environment itself also piqued his curiosity. Although he didn't know anything about this place, he could somehow feel that it was…alive, and possessed a similar power, but more wicked.

His wariness grew.

Something was off. This power wasn't like anything he had ever experienced before. It was almost like everything that made this realm had emotions woven through it, but how was that possible? He couldn't sense any flesh-and-blood creatures in this world other than him. What kind of world had he been taken to? And why had he been taken here during his duel with Akiza?

Suddenly, flashes of his earlier experiences zipped through his mind.

"Divine…he unsealed that power hidden within me!" he roared, even though nobody was around. "The darkness sealed in my body must have taken control of me and sent me within my subconsciousness, but why? It just doesn't make sense!"

Konami slowly walked across the platform only for an unnatural force to press down on his body, causing him to be paralyzed with fear.

"Wh-What is this? I can't move!"

"Your questions will be answered soon enough. Just be patient, boy," a familiar voice said from above.

Konami's eyes widened. Sweat ran down his face. He had heard that voice before…but it was impossible…he shouldn't be here. He remembered finishing him off and sending him to hell.

With a trembling body the boy slowly looked up, catching a glimpse of someone he never thought he'd see again.

"You're - how did you survive?" He managed to rasp out.

He didn't need to see it clearly enough to know it was man concealed within what could only be a life support device created as a hovercraft.

No, he didn't need to see anything. Just the sound of the voice was identity enough.

"Z-One!"

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" The man addressed as Z-One spoke clearly as he added, "I'm surprised you remember me. You never seemed like the type of person to remember their enemy's name."

"Well, considering that enemy was someone who I fought back in a forest at night where he almost killed me...I think they would be burned into my memory pretty well," Konami replied, remembering that fateful night all too well.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Z-One considered briefly. "After all this time, I'm confused. Are you aware of how you managed to survive my final attack? That should have been more than enough to end your life."

He snarled, managing to regain his composure. He didn't know what was going on, but he intended to get to the bottom of it.

"I could ask you the same question," Konami replied. "I managed to pierce one of your vital organs with my remaining strength. You should be dead no matter who or what you are!"

The man in the machine chuckled, "That should have been the case, but both you and I were spared by the same force sealed within you. Am I right?"

Konami's eyes widened, but his surprise was only momentary. He shouldn't be so shocked - after all, this was the very same man who told him many things about him that he didn't even know, and there was probably a chance he knew much more than he let on.

"Indeed," Z-One said, as though he had read the boy's mind. "I've uncovered secrets of both nature and the universe that you couldn't comprehend. However, the darkness formerly sealed within you didn't bring you here just to chat. There's so much more to this that you've yet to learn."

"Yet to learn?" Konami deadpanned, as if what he said was the most obvious thing in the world, "You're saying that like I don't already know what's going on. I don't know how you survived, and frankly, I don't care. All I care about is stopping you."

He lunged forward only to have a metallic hand rise from Z-One's machine, stopping him in his tracks.

"Patience, boy. Don't lose your cool. I'm not planning anything that will harm you, or anyone else, for that matter. My interests no longer concern you, although it seems to me that you still don't understand what's going on here...do you?"

"Should I?" Konami asked, bewildered.

"Yes. You are obligated to know. ...but it's not like you're going to remember it," Z-One muttered.

"What was that?" Konami growled, hearing the man's words despite their distance from each other.

It couldn't be seen because of his mask, but Z-One flashed the boy a smile before continuing. "I'm afraid you won't remember what I'm about to tell you, or the three months you spent in this universe."

"And why's that?" Konami exclaimed, sounding more defensive.

Z-One chuckled. "It's simple. In another moment, it will cease to exist."

"Wh-WHAT?" he hissed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You'll find out soon enough, and I assure you the explanation will be to die for," Z-One responded calmly, floating down to the boy. "Sadly, however, I won't be the one delivering it."

A bolt of black electricity shot down from the sky, creating a huge aftershock that almost tore apart the ground. As it released a dreaded ray of darkness, a familiar figure slowly stepped out.

"_This is just not my day._" Konami gave the duo piercing glares. "_As if Z-One wasn't powerful enough, now I have to deal with Divine, too? And to make matters worse, I can't even use my Duel Spirits to aid me, because my connection with all four of them went cold a few moments ago.._."

"Hello, Konami," Divine said, smugly smiling at the boy and not even bothering to care about the glares being tossed in his direction. "From the look on your face, I see you've realized just how deep of a hole you've fallen into. However, it's already too late for you."

Taking a slow step back from the duo standing before him, Konami could only regret not figuring out what was going on sooner. If he had, there was a chance he might not have been in the situation he was in now.

"But how? I killed you, Z-One, and Erebus - he was sealed within me years ago. Divine, how are you a part of all this? Since you're not the Divine from my universe, you shouldn't know about any of this!"

"You're just full of questions today, aren't you?" Divine frowned, stepping forward. "I guess it doesn't matter if we humor you a bit, since you're about to fade out of existence soon anyway."

Z-One released a dim ray of light, creating dozens of images to flicker in the empty void before them as he began speaking.

"I suppose you remember the night we first met each other?" Z-One began, instantly catching Konami's attention. He took the boys silence as a yes, so he continued. "That night in the forest where you challenged me after discovering a small part of my plans for the future should have been the end of both of us. You were supposed to die from the wounds I inflicted on you after defeating you, and I was supposed to die because you somehow managed to pierce my pancreas with a sword at the last minute. So, don't you find it the least bit strange that we're still alive?"

Not waiting for a response, he caused an image to appear before Konami, showing a vivid image of both of he and a speared Z-One lying on the ground.

"That's right, but I never found out why I didn't die," he answered.

"It was a stroke of luck, really, but, instead of just telling you, I'll show you, instead." Z-One smirked, his blue eye gazing at Konami with an undefined expression.

The image before the trio shifted, revealing the truth of what had happened that fateful night.

Konami didn't know what he was supposed to be looking at at first, but after a while he figured out what was going on. He watched a_ younger _version of himself charge towards Z-One, stabbing him with a red-hilted sword clutched tightly in his right hand. It was just like he remembered, except…

A dark aura was seeping off the edge of the blade as both of them went down.

"It was the darkness sealed within you that saved us from death," Z-One explained. "The seal you had keeping that power at bay was premature at that time, and since your body was in tatters you didn't have enough strength to resist its influence. It was because of that a small portion of the darkness sealed within you had merged with me, saving my life in the process. But it did so much more than just that."

"What do you mean?" Konami asked, growing low on patience.

"It connected the two of us. You see, when part of the power sealed within you merged with my life force, both of our life forces became one. That's what allowed you to survive," he finished.

"We…became one?" Konami repeated in amazement.

"Yes, and because of that I was able to see all of the experiences from that day forward without you ever knowing that I was still alive," he said with Divine nodding in confirmation. "And this is where Erebus comes in. Ever since we became one, I was able to communicate with him without your knowledge."

Konami's mouth went agape. He suddenly forgot the fear he had felt a moment ago. "H-How could you do that without me knowing?"

"Since he was sealed within your subconscious mind, and you never bothered to check on him, it was far too easy to discuss our plans," Z-One answered, turning to face the boy. "Your ignorance was your downfall."

"Yes, another trait you and your alternate self seem to share," Divine added in. "But don't think too badly of yourself because of that. The way you charge into matters without thinking was the biggest reason that you're here." He smirked, stepping forward. "You just decided to travel to a different universe on your own without thinking of the risks, all because you wanted to find your dear friend Kristya."

Konami's eyes widened in realization.

"Hehe, Kristya didn't just travel through dimensions randomly." Divine laughed at the boy's ignorance. "Erebus teleported Kristya to my dimension when he was about to be killed by Nightshroud, and that was also a part of his plan. Z-One's ability to time travel made it terribly easy to know when to act, and it was equally easy to lure you to this dimension with false hopes. The three of us knew you would do anything to get Kristya back, even if it meant traveling blindly to an unfamiliar place. All that was left to do was wait until the time was right for me to do my part."

"Which was?" Konami growled back, clenching his fist in anger.

"Are you really that dense? My job was to weaken the seal placed on you and trick you into a duel." Divine chuckled. "That card you grabbed last night was a specially designed card meant for psychics only. If a person without telepathic abilities touched it their mind would be drastically weakened for only a few minutes, but a few minutes was more than enough time for Erebus to escape, and even though he wasn't completely released from his prison he was able to force himself out because of the direct attack you suffered from Black Rose Dragon."

"So basically you've been manipulating me from the start," Konami growled, ready to attack the pair.

Divine nodded. "Yes...and there's one thing that still has to be done."

"Now!" Z-One shouted.

Pain overtook his body. Blood splattered across the floor. He could only stare in astonishment, hacking up blood as he fell to his knees. His vision blackened. The world before him slowly spiraled out of view. The only thing he saw was the expressionless face of his assailant before drifting to his eternal rest.

"Konami, because I was imprisoned within you, you didn't take me as a serious threat. That was the last mistake you'll ever make," Erebus said as though reciting it as he glanced down upon his fallen victim. After another moment, he turned his attention to the pair walking towards him. "Is everything ready?"

They nodded.

He didn't say a word, instead kneeling towards Red Hat and placing a hand on his stomach.

Their bodies began glowing as a field of darkness surrounded them. It was at that moment a swirling blue, purple and black vortex appeared before them, sucking the two in before vanishing in a flash of light.

"Their spirits are now fused," Z-One thought, gazing into the endless void.

"Z-One, what will happen to Konami and Erebus now?" Divine asked out of genuine curiosity.

Z-One cocked an eyebrow, glancing over at Divine. "Like in Duel Monsters, when creatures are fused to form new ones, the materials used are sent to the Graveyard. This is the same. Once Konami and Erebus are fused, they'll create a new being, and both of them will cease to exist."

"I see, but it's such a shame. I was really hoping to get to know that child better." Divine smirked only briefly, just before his expression turned serious once again. "Still, I hope there is more to this plan of ours than just...this. I can't bring myself to believe we went through all this trouble just to combine two people."

It was at that moment the world before the two began crumbling to pieces.

"There is. This void isn't Konami's subconsciousness - in fact, it is far from it!" Z-One explained, watching as cracks filled the surface of this void while the platform beneath them did the same. "We're actually inside of a dimensional pocket directly in between both your universe and Konami's."

Divine's eyes widened in astonishment.

"In this realm, there are certain rules that must be followed, and defying them would be like life defying God itself," Z-One explained.

"That's nice and all, but what does this have to do with what's going on?" Divine asked, watching a blinding, starry light emanate from the cracks formed.

Z-One smiled. "While in-between realms, you are obliged to follow those rules. They are very...open to loopholes. However, there is one thing that is absolutely forbidden. Two entities from separate universes can never become one."

"But that doesn't make any sense. Both Erebus and Konami lived in the same universe, so if what you said was true, this shouldn't be happening," Divine pointed out.

"You're right, but just because Erebus lived in the same universe as Konami doesn't mean it was the universe he was created in," Z-One revealed, further piquing Divine's curiosity. "Don't you find it strange that the Konami of another universe possesses a sealed power within him, but the Konami from your universe doesn't? Well, there's a simple explanation for that. Erebus originally inhabited "Yellow Hat," the Konami of your universe."

Divine was taken slightly off guard, but still somehow kept his composure, as always.

"I still don't know how Erebus managed to escape, why he didn't stay in his own universe, when he escaped, or how he was sealed within "Red Hat" Konami. He never told me how it happened, but it was what attracted me to Konami in the first place, and how we met in the forest that fateful night. It was because of that we were able to form an alliance and get this far," Z-One admitted.

"Interesting, but what are the consequences of doing this?" Divine asked, noticing the void had almost vanished, looking as if it was about to implode on itself. Then at that point two spheres of light appeared before them. "Hmm, well, whatever it is it certainly doesn't look like it's anything too good."

"_Yes, the results of two entities of different universes merging with one another would be catastrophic_," Z-One thought, "because both of their universes would fuse, becoming a new universe with a rewritten history differing from both of them, and once Erebus and Konami are fused into one, the person created in their place will wake up in the created universe oblivious to what's happened."

"So what's going to happen now?" Divine asked. "Should we be worried about this fusion of Konami and Erebus?"

Z-One shook his head. "No, the two have already become one. It is because of that we don't have to worry about anything. The new universe will be no different from the two previous ones used to create it. It will have the same timeline as yours, but will be inhabited by people who previously lived in Konami's universe, not yours. That alone will make the fusion result of those two live a much different life than Red Hat."

"_Hmm, that sounds grand, and since the people of Red Hat's world will be exposed to Zero Reverse sixteen years earlier along with every event from little to small that will mean people's lives will be altered greatly._"

* * *

**Chapter Five**

* * *

**END**

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**With Z-One's plan in fruition, Konami has been merged with Erebus, taking them both out of existence. What type of life will their fusion result live in this new world now that it differs from both universes used for its creation? Find out next time in the sequel to Dark Conspiracy!**


End file.
